


Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Change of Hart: From Pink to Purple

by Ceidwad_Porffor



Category: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
Genre: Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Bondage, Come Eating, F/M, First Time Blow Jobs, Loss of Virginity, Nipple Play, Nipple Torture, Non-Consensual Bondage, Non-Consensual Oral Sex, Non-Consensual Spanking, Non-Consensual Touching, Oral Sex, Rough Oral Sex, Spanking, Vaginal Fingering, Vaginal Fisting, Vaginal Sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-11-20
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:33:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 6
Words: 50,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26852245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ceidwad_Porffor/pseuds/Ceidwad_Porffor
Summary: Kimberly Hart, the Pink Ranger, is having doubts about her identity and her relationship with Tommy, the White Ranger. Then, Lord Zedd shows up with plans of his own ... (This story is based upon the events which took place during the MMPR episode "Beauty and the Beast". And, yes, I am also known as KLeslie on other sites.)
Relationships: Kimberly Hart/Lord Zedd
Kudos: 8





	1. Dictionary of "Nogardian" Words

**Dictionary of "Nogardian" Words**

**Am** \- for

 **Ar ôl** \- after (ahr ole)

 **Arglwydd** \- lord (ahr-GLOO-ith)

 **Arglwyddes** \- lady (ahr-GLOO-ith-ess)

 **Arian** \- silver

 **Asyn** \- arse (ahz'en)

 **Bachgen** \- boy (bock-gan)

 **Bachgen-tegan** \- boy toy (bock-gan tay-gan)

 **Bobl** \- people (bow'bul)

 **Bondiomêt** \- spouse (bon-dee-oh-mate)

 **Bore dda** \- good morning (bor'eh thah)

 **Brawd** \- brother (browd)

 **Brecwast** \- breakfast (breh'k-oo'ahst)

 **Brenin** \- king (breh'neehn)

 **Bwyd** \- food (boo'eehd)

 **Cariad** \- love, lover, sweetheart, dear, my sweet (cah-ree-ahd)

 **Castell** \- castle (cahs-teth)

 **Ceidwad** \- ranger

 **Ceidwaid** \- rangers

 **Chwaer** \- sister (SHWY-air)

 **Cinio** \- lunch (keen-yo)

 **Cominwyr** \- commoner/common people (koh-min-you'er)

 **Croeso** \- you're welcome, welcome (GROY-zoh)

 **Cynghorydd** \- advisor (king-HOR-ith)

 **Damniwch hi** \- dammit (dahm-nee-ook hee)

 **Darn Arian Pŵer** \- Power Coin

 **Dda** \- good (thah)

 **Dda iawn** \- very good (thah ee'ow'n)

 **Ddrwg** \- bad, evil (throok)

 **Ddugiaid** \- Duke (thoog-ee-ah-ihd)

 **Diolch** \- thank you (dee-oh'lksh)

 **Diwrnod dda** \- good day (DEE-ur-not thah)

 **Draig** \- dragon (DRAH'eyeg)

 **Draigwaed** \- dragon blood (DRAH'eyeg-oo'ah-ed)

 **Draigwyn** \- fermented dragon blood (DRAH'eyeg-oo'in)

 **Dreigiau** \- dragons (dreh'ig-ee-ow)

 **Dugiaeth** \- Dutchess (doog-ee'ah-eth)

 **Eich** \- your (eh-icksh)

 **Ein** \- our (eh-in)

 **Elitaidd** \- elite (eh-lih-tah'ith)

 **Eneth** \- daughters (eh-nehth)

 **Ers** \- since (airss)

 **Ferch** \- daughter

 **Ffrind** \- friend

 **Ffrindiau** \- friends

 **Fy** \- my (veuh)

 **Gohebwyr** \- reporters (go-heb-oo-ihr)

 **Gwain** \- sheath (goo-wah-ihn)

 **Gwas** \- manservant (goo'ahss)

 **Gwyn** \- white

 **Gwyrdd** \- green

 **Heno** \- tonight (hen-noh)

 **Hwyrach** \- later (hwoy-rahk)

 **Iawn** \- okay, very (ee'ow-n)

 **Llawforwyn** \- Lady in Waiting (thow-vore-oo'ihn)

 **Mab** \- son (mahp)

 **Mam** \- mom (mah)

 **Meibion** \- sons (maybeeyon)

 **Meistres** \- mistress (meh'iss-tress)

 **Mefusadd** \- fruit juice (mehv-uz-ahth)

 **Mêt(s)** \- mate(s) (mate)

 **Modrwy** \- ring (moh-droo'ee)

 **Moneddiges** \- lady (moh-neh-thig-ehss)

 **Monesig** \- miss (moh-neh-zick)

 **Na** \- no (nah)

 **Nadroedd** \- snakes (nah-droy-ehth)

 **Nawr** \- now (nah'oor)

 **Neidr** \- snake (nay-dur)

 **Neithiwr** \- last night (neh-ih-thih-ur)

 **Nghont** \- cunt (njont)

 **Nos da** \- good night (nohss dah)

 **Pawb** \- everyone (pah'oob)

 **Pidyn** \- penis (pih-deen)

 **Pinc** \- pink

 **Porffor** \- purple

 **Pryd** \- meal (preehd)

 **Prynhawn dda** \- good afternoon (prin-hah'oon tha)

 **Rheolydd** \- ruler, ruler of (RAY-oh-lihth)

 **Rwy'n** \- I am (roo'een)

 **Swper** \- supper (ZOO-pehr)

 **Swyn** \- spell (zoo-ihn)

 **Swyn serch** \- love spell - (zoo-ihn zehrch)

 **Swynion** \- spells - (zoo-ihn-nih-yahn)

 **Tad** \- father (taht)

 **Tai** \- houses (tah'ee)

 **Teulu** \- family (tay'uh-loo)

 **Teuluoedd** \- families (tay-lee-oy-ith)

 **Tŷ** \- house - (tee)

 **Tŷ Bach** \- latrine (tee bahk)

 **Tywysog** \- prince (t'yoo-wih-zock)

 **Y** \- the (euh)

 **Ymddiheuraf** \- expression of regret (em'thee'hoy'raf)

 **Yn** \- in (euhn)

 **Ydw** \- yes (EH-doo)

 **Ystafell ymolchi** \- bathroom (eh-stah-veth eh-mole-hee)

* * *

**Pronunciations of Proper Names**

**Cyneberlê Hydd** \- Kih'neh-behr-lee Heeth

 **Efan** \- Eh-vahn

 **Gwenllian** \- GOO'ehn-thlee'ahn

 **Hywel** \- HUE-ell

 **Ieustyn** \- Yoy-stehn

 **Marared** \- Mah-rah-rett

 **Siân** \- Shwahn

* * *

**Translations of "Norgardian" Phrases**

**Croeso i gartref Moneddiges Gwenllian** \- Welcome to Lady Gwenllian's home (GROY'zoh ih gahr-trev Moh-neh-thihg-ess GOO'ehn-thlee'ahn)

 **Dim ond yr ystafell ymolchi?** \- Where is the bathroom?

 **Dw i Ieustyn, gwas y Moneddiges Gwenllian** \- I am Ieustyn, Lady Gwenllian's manservant (doo'ee Yoy-stehn, goo'ahss euh Moh-neh-thihg-ess GOO'ehn-thlee'ahn)

 **Rwy'n addoli chi, hefyd** \- I adore you, too (roo'een ah-tho-lee hee, heh-vid)

 **Sut dych chi?** \- How are you? (siht dihck'hee)


	2. May 24, 1996

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lord Zedd saves Kimberly from Tommy and then takes her to his castle on the moon for a night she will never forget.

This story is dedicated to my good friends Michael and Pixie. Many thanks to you both. Love you lots! ~ KLeslie

* * *

**Mighty Morphin Power Rangers**

**Change of Hart: From Pink to Purple**

* * *

**Angel Grove, California**

**May 24, 1996**

Kimberly Ann Hart tossed and turned in her bed, inadvertently wrapping herself up in her carnation-pink comforter. Everything in her room was pink. That was because her secret identity was the Pink Power Ranger. She plus five other teenagers were members of an evil-fighting group of warriors known to the public as the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.

The Power Rangers were the protectors of their hometown of Angel Grove, located in Southern California. In Angel Grove, the Pink Ranger could do no wrong. In it, the Pink Ranger was a hero. In it, the Pink Ranger and the White Ranger were deemed to be soulmates by all.

Kimberly glanced over at her nightstand where a magazine lay unopened. On its front cover was a photograph of the Pink Ranger and the White Ranger embracing after defeating one of Lord Zedd's latest monsters. The caption next to the photo read: _Lovers United After Battle_.

A sudden, uncontrollable wave of disgust rising up within her, the newly-turned eighteen-year-old swiped the magazine onto the floor. _Lovers indeed._ She and Tommy had never shared anything more than a few (admittedly passionate) kisses, and that was even after she had invited him to stay the night once while her parents were away for an extended weekend. His excuse for not going further than kissing - _maybe Zordon would see_.

Kimberly had rolled her eyes and scoffed then, just as she did now. Even though Zordon used his magical Viewing Globe in a lot of ways, surely the Rangers' private lives would remain, well, _private_. They were teenagers, after all. Teenagers filled with raging hormones that needed to be soothed in some capacity.

Of course, Zordon wasn't the only one with the ability to see into the Rangers' personal lives. Lord Zedd - their sworn, diabolical adversary who resided on Earth's moon - could, as well. And she guessed that _he_ probably had, at least a little. An evil being like him wouldn't have the same moral compass as Zordon. Zordon's pointed North while Lord Zedd's pointed South. _Way_ South.

Speaking of ' _way_ _South'_ , Kimberly felt a familiar tingle between her legs that she often experienced when thinking about the alien warlord. She had been given the opportunity to marry him once. At the time she was presented with that opportunity, she had been two years younger; therefore, she had turned down his offer of marriage. But, honestly, what had he been expecting? At sixteen years old, she hadn't been ready to be anyone's wife, much less _his_. Especially not his. She was a Power Ranger, for crying out loud, chosen specifically to fight evil, not to join it!

Kimberly felt confident she had done the right thing by saying no to his proposal. And yet …

Untangling herself from her pink covers, she wandered out onto her small balcony, leaning her forearms on the railing and gazing up at the full moon in the clear, starlit sky. Lord Zedd was up there, somewhere, in his castle. _Was he looking down at Earth? At her?_ There was only one way to find out.

Feeling bold, Kimberly leaned back against her balcony's railing, her earth-brown eyes still fixed on the moon. She hiked the short skirt of her pink cotton nightie up to just below her Power Morpher, which habitually stayed belted around her trim waist with a thin, pink sash even while she was sleeping. The brunette was already getting excited - the wet spot on the front of her nightie's matching thong proved it, and she pressed the pad of her index finger to the spot and slowly began rubbing it. Her clit instantly hardened - she could feel it through the thin fabric barrier that separated it from her finger.

Kimberly's lips parted in a soft sigh, her eyelids on the cusp of closing, when a flash of white caught her attention, quickly distracting her from the pleasure building between her slim gymnast's thighs. With some effort, she focused her gaze on the lone figure which she watched stumbling towards the front door of her house.

_Shit. That's Tommy. Could he be injured?_

The teenager's forefinger instantly fell away from her clit, then she scurried back into her bedroom and hurried downstairs before the loud pounding on the door managed to awaken her parents. Unlocking the door, the brunette flung it open. "Tommy, what the hell?" she demanded. "Are you hurt?"

He vigorously shook his head, causing his disheveled, chestnut-brown, shoulder-length hair to lightly smack across his face. "Naw, beautiful," he drawled. "The guys and I were hanging out at Rocky's house and we had a few drinks to celebrate the end of school."

Kimberly's hand tightened around the door handle. "So you're drunk? Great, just great, Tommy," she tersely chided with a quiet sigh of irritation, moving to shut the door. "Come back when you've sobered up."

Abruptly extending an arm to prevent the door from closing, Tommy whined, "Wait, Kim." He reached for his back pocket and pulled out a rolled up magazine. To her surprise and chagrin, Kimberly noted it was the same one she had swiped off her nightstand a few minutes earlier. "Everyone thinks we're lovers," he insisted. "There's no reason we can't be now, right? I mean, we're both eighteen, and we're in love … "

"Are we?" Kimberly asked quietly, a hint of reproach entering her voice. "Tommy, I wasn't sure about your feelings for me, so I applied for colleges out of state - "

Anger flashed within his dark eyes. "You what?! What are you saying, Kim - that you're leaving me?"

She nervously licked her lips and said, "A few universities offered me gymnastics scholarships, Tommy. I had to make a choice - "

"And you're just telling me about this _now_?!" the White Ranger bellowed, his voice growing progressively louder as his posture became increasingly confrontational. "Where are you going, Kim? Huh, where?"

Tears stung Kimberly's eyes as she pleaded, "Tommy, let's talk about this later, all right? I haven't even told Zordon yet."

Tommy held the magazine cover right up to the Pink Ranger's face so that all she could see was the photograph of the two of them hugging displayed on its cover. "You're not going anywhere, beautiful," he slurred. "I told you, I think it's time to make the assumptions about us true."

Kimberly shakily pushed the magazine aside. "Go home, Tommy. Please," she desperately begged him. "We'll discuss this later. I promise."

"No," he snapped. "You are mine, Kim. _Mine_. And you aren't leaving me."

Now, the Pink Ranger's anger started to rise. "I don't belong to anyone, Tommy. I can do whatever the hell I want - "

 _ **Smack**_.

Kimberly cried out and instinctively raised a hand to her stinging cheek. As she stood there, stunned, Tommy quickly reached behind her for the inside doorknob and turned its lock. Then, he pulled the door shut, trapping her outside the house with him. Shocked by his sudden violence and actually slightly afraid of who his drunken anger was making him become, Kimberly tried running past him, but he caught her by the waist and slammed her backwards into the door. As she gasped for a breath that wasn't there, Tommy shoved a hand between her legs, his fingers searching for the same spot her own had found only a few minutes earlier.

Finally, Kimberly's lungs filled with air she had been straining to inhale. Tears ran down her cheeks while she screamed for Tommy to stop, but he ignored her pleading and slid a finger into her. A drunken grin had just begun to twist his lips when suddenly, from behind him, a red glow appeared.

"You're so wet," Tommy slurred and tried to kiss her, but Kimberly turned her head at the last second so Tommy's mouth landed on her cheek instead of her lips.

"Not for you!" she irately hissed.

Instead of saying anything in reply, Tommy raised his free hand to strike her again; however, it was caught in midflight by another. Not having expected any outside intervention, Kimberly stared at the red and silver hand in complete shock. _Zedd_. It was Lord Zedd who had come to her rescue. _He must have been watching me, after all_ , she realized, and she might have giggled if not for the awful circumstances surrounding that (admittedly unsurprising) discovery.

Even though one of his hands was trapped within the steel grip of their most powerful foe, Tommy's finger dug further into Kimberly's tight, virgin cunt, causing her to grimace in pain as he turned to the evil alien being who seemingly had come to save her. "This doesn't involve you, Zedd," he snarled.

The warlord squeezed Tommy's hand harder, and Kimberly could see the boy flinch in pain as Lord Zedd growled, "I have put up with a lot from you pesky teenagers, but you crossed a line tonight, White Ranger. Move away from Kimberly. _Now_."

"Or what?" Tommy unwisely challenged, puffing out his chest in what Kimberly took to be a ridiculous (and more than a little bit pathetic) display of male bravado.

In response to his challenge, Lord Zedd raised his silver scepter and aimed the "Z" straight at the male teenager's chest. "Do you really want to find out?" he inquired with a cool confidence that stood out in sharp contrast against Tommy's blustering.

"No!" Kimberly answered for her so-called boyfriend while looking directly at the alien warlord. "Lord Zedd, please just let Tommy go. Please … "

Then, turning her head slightly, she glared at her fellow Power Ranger. "Tommy, get out of here. Now!"

"Fine," Tommy snapped then jerked his hand out from underneath the hem of Kimberly's nightie.

However, Lord Zedd kept a firm grip on the other, preventing the boy from walking away. "If you _ever_ touch Kimberly again, there will be Hell to pay. Do I make myself clear?" The alien's deep voice was quiet but cold, and it brought a chill to the Pink Ranger's spine.

"What's it to you?" Tommy demanded, and even though Kimberly suspected that it was just the alcohol making him act like such an ass, his behavior disgusted her. "She isn't yours."

"She isn't yours, either, White Ranger. Now go, before I change my mind and destroy you." Lord Zedd threw Tommy's hand back at him. The latter staggered backwards but still managed to bring the finger that had been inside of Kimberly to his mouth. Staring straight into her eyes, he licked it in an exaggerated manner, noisily slurping before pulling it out of his mouth with a loud pop.

"You taste good, beautiful," Tommy taunted. He then turned his gaze onto Lord Zedd. "Too bad you'll never know."

Chuckling low in his throat, the warlord growled, "We shall see about that." He then swept Kimberly off her feet and flung her body over his right shoulder, causing her nightie to ride up her thighs almost to her hips.

Beneath her, a long, armored, black cloak streamed from Lord Zedd's shoulders, the texture of the fabric against Kimberly's sensitized skin unlike anything she had ever felt. But 'black' did not even begin to describe the garment billowing behind the would-be conqueror, for sewn to it in an intricate, overlapping pattern were leathery reptilian scales much like an alligator or crocodile's, but rather than the familiar greens and brownish blacks, these scales were varying shades of deep violet, and they were as slick and hard as metal. Despite their metallic feel and how obvious it was that the scales served a protective purpose, being laid over them was far from uncomfortable, as they warmed to the teenager's flesh, molding to the contours of her body. Every slight movement made them shimmer with a ghostly iridescence in the same moonlight that caressed her squirming form.

The moment his hand settled firmly on her nearly-bare ass to hold it still, Kimberly's attention was diverted from her captor's unique cloak. His touch instantly caused her cunt to weep with hot desire, and when he gave her ass a gentle pat, she knew he could feel her lust for him soaking through her cotton thong.

As if he could read her desire and knew its target, the warlord spoke. "Soon," he promised.

"NO!" Tommy yelled.

His ear-piercing shout was the last thing Kimberly heard before she and Lord Zedd vanished from the face of the Earth.

* * *

Within seconds, the Pink Ranger and the alien warlord arrived in his castle on the moon, but her eyes were so full of tears she couldn't properly see her surroundings. Everything was so damn blurry. It wasn't until Lord Zedd had set her down on a soft mattress that Kimberly realized she was in a bed chamber. Even through her blurry vision, though, she was able to see that the satin sheet beneath her was red. _Oh fuck._ Knowing she was in her enemy's own personal quarters, probably sitting upon _his own personal bed_ , caused her even more distress.

"Here, drink this," Lord Zedd commanded as he placed a heavy goblet in the teenager's right hand. "It's a type of wine from my homeworld called Draigwyn."

"W-wine?" she questioned, still sobbing.

"Trust me, it will help."

Kimberly couldn't help but smirk at her long time adversary. "T-trust _y-you_?"

"Yes. I realize this is asking a lot - "

The brunette cut Lord Zedd off by downing the tart yet tasty drink in a few fast swallows. He Once she had emptied it, he took the goblet from her hand and gave her a soft red handkerchief in its stead. "Th-thank y-you," she murmured uncertainly.

After Kimberly dabbed her eyes and nose and handed it back to him, the alien tossed the small cloth into a receptacle next to his bed. She stared up at him and then blurted out, "Tommy and I aren't actually lovers, you know. We're barely even boyfriend-girlfriend anymore."

Lord Zedd gazed at her calmly, simply replying, "I know."

"Those damn tabloids," the teenager irately hissed. "Saving the world isn't enough for people. No, they have to go and make up stories just to earn an extra dollar or two. It's disgusting."

"Kimberly, anything with your photograph on it is going to sell. You're very pretty."

"For a human," she joshed, although her cheeks warmed at the warlord's candidly offered compliment.

"For anybody," he stoically countered. "Tommy is a damn fool."

Sighing, Kimberly asked, "How much of that did you see?"

Lord Zedd leaned his scepter against a wall and said, "All of it. And then some."

The teenager nodded without embarrassment, for that was what she had hoped he would do when she wandered out onto her balcony to touch herself. "You watch me a lot," she assumed.

Turning back to look at her, the alien bluntly replied, "Yes, more than you know or probably care to know. As I said, Tommy is a damn fool."

"To be fair, I should have told him about the scholarships as soon as I began receiving them," Kimberly openly admitted, knowing that, at least in that regard, she had truly done wrong by her boyfriend.

"So why didn't you?" Lord Zedd queried.

"Because, at that time, my plan was to stay in Angel Grove," the brunette explained. "But then, Tommy and I started drifting apart, and although saving the world is great, I found that my heart just wasn't in it anymore. I wanted to have a life outside of all that. And that's not fair to Zordon, Tommy, or the other Rangers. I mean, we're all friends, but people change. _I've_ changed. Ever since your damn marriage proposal - "

"Which you yourself turned down," Lord Zedd curtly interjected.

Kimberly glowered at him, exclaiming, "What did you expect?! You proposed to a sixteen-year-old girl!"

Taking her anger in stride, the alien evenly replied, "At least I knew what I wanted, Kimberly, which is more than I can say for you."

Refusing to be intimidated by her adversary, the Power Ranger held her ground. "I didn't want to be your wife back then, Lord Zedd. I loved Tommy. I gave him so many chances … "

"And look at how he repaid you." The warlord's icy tone chilled Kimberly to the core.

"He was drunk," she meekly offered, still feeling like she was supposed to defend the White Ranger.

"That's no excuse," Lord Zedd barked back.

Defiantly, the teenager lifted a brow at him. "So, what, now you're my knight in shining armor?"

"Hardly," he confessed. "I still desire you, Kimberly. Simple as that."

"Is it?" she quietly asked, mostly to herself.

Lord Zedd answered her question anyway. "Only if you want it to be."

The brunette gave the evil being a long, steady look. "If this is just some diabolical scheme to obtain the Pink Ranger's powers - "

"I don't need the Pink Ranger's powers, Kimberly," he sternly informed her, and for some reason, the teenager realized she actually believed him. However, before she could think of a proper reply, the warlord strode to a wall where he unlocked a small section of it and pulled out a small, ornately carved box made from a pale, yellowish material resembling old ivory that seemed to glow from within. While she watched him, wondering about the significance of the coffer and why he had retrieved it _now_ , he brought it to her and lifted its lid, tilting it so she could see what lay inside. Nestled within a layer of dark purple velvet rested a Power Morpher alongside a gold Raptorex Power Coin that glowed violet. "What I need is _you_."

Kimberly looked from the Power Coin up to Lord Zedd's masked face. "You want me to become the Purple Ranger?"

"Yes."

"I don't understand," she admitted, genuinely confused. "You could have your choice of anyone - "

"And you are the one I have chosen," the alien impatiently interrupted. At that moment, everything fell into place in her mind and the teenager suddenly realized this must be the reason he wore a cape composed of varying hues of violet. "Kimberly, I've wanted you ever since the moment I first laid eyes on you. My marriage proposal may have been a couple years premature, but my motivation had nothing to do with conquering your powers."

Glancing back down at the gold Raptorex coin, the brunette inquired, "Does Zordon know you have this?"

"No, not to my knowledge. Truthfully, I'm not even sure he knows it exists."

"Zordon knows everything," the Pink Ranger muttered, irritated by her mentor's seemingly constant and unavoidable attention.

Kneeling before her, the warlord dragged the backs of his knuckles down her left cheek, softly but confidently replying, "Not everything, my sweet."

Kimberly's belly flipped as her adversary leaned in to kiss her. The grated metal that concealed his mouth felt cold on her lips, yet the contact warmed her body. As Lord Zedd set the ornate box on the floor and gently urged her to lay back onto the mattress, she inhaled a sharp breath. A soft moan of surprise escaped her when she felt his hands squeeze her thighs just below the hem of her short pink nightie. Then, very gradually, one hand followed the same path hers and Tommy's had taken before. The Ranger's head fell back upon the red silken sheets, and she moaned again when a silver-clad fingertip slowly circled her aroused clit over the pink thong.

The alien raised his head slightly so that he could properly gaze into her eyes. "Kimberly, tell me you want this," he gruffly commanded. "Tell me I can touch you."

"Yes, oh yes, Lord Zedd," she earnestly replied, her cunt throbbing with a fierce ache that she knew only he could soothe. "Please … "

Once again, the warlord's silver mouthpiece found the teenager's soft, pliable lips. While they kissed, he slipped a silver-tipped finger into her slick folds. The warmth of his muscular flesh combined with the coolness of the pointed metal adornment made her nearly jump out of her skin as he gradually wiggled his digit against the tight walls surrounding it and thoroughly explored the wet depths beneath it. The intimacy of his touch felt so taboo and yet so incredibly amazing. "Oh fuck!" she gasped.

With a low, throaty chuckle that sent shivers dancing down the teenager's spine, the evil being promised her, "That will come later, my sweet. You have my word."

Kimberly arched her back as he leisurely slid his finger in and out of her, the warlord seemingly enjoying the moment as much as she was. Feeling her stomach muscles tightened in response to his even, deliberate strokes, she breathily warned him, "Lord Zedd, I don't think I'm going to last much longer."

"Considering how wet you are, I was not expecting you to last for long," the warlord told her, his voice husky with desire. On an outstroke, he added a second finger, which instantly sent Kimberly into convulsions. She had never felt anything so gratifying in all her life.

"Fuck," she sighed as the spasms causing her inner walls to clench around his finger began to subside, leaving her feeling like she was floating upon bubbles of bliss. "That was really intense."

"And, just think, my sweet: that was merely with my fingers."

The brunette gazed languidly up into the red visor which covered the alien's eyes and sighed, "It really will be good between us, won't it?"

Before replying, he pressed another kiss to her lips. "Yes. I daresay it will be moon-shattering."

With a genuine laugh, Kimberly playfully teased, "Better be careful, Lord Zedd, or you'll make me fall in love with you."

His expression inscrutable behind his mask, the warlord reverently traced the outline of her mouth with the pad of his thumb. "Would that really be so bad?" he serenely asked. "And just 'Zedd' is fine, Kimberly."

"You know you can call me Kim," she countered, grinning up at him.

"I prefer Kimberly." Zedd left the bed to clean off his fingers. The teenager's gaze followed him.

"I have to go back to Earth soon," she hesitantly stated, concerned that mentioning her responsibilities back home would ruin the moment or even anger the crimson-fleshed alien, but unable to make herself ignore their existence. "As much as you hate Zordon, I just can't leave him hanging. He'll need time to find my replacement. I now know that I can no longer be the Pink Ranger." Thinking he might read too much into her decision to give up her position, she quickly added, "But that doesn't mean I'm agreeing to become the Purple Ranger, either. "I need time to think about all of this."

Zedd released a heavy sigh, yet, to his credit, he nodded in agreement. "Fine. I will let you go home, but not until morning. I want to have at least one night with you."

Kimberly's heart caught in her chest. "I'm not going to leave your castle a virgin, am I?" she whispered in both excitement and trepidation.

"No, not if I can help it." At that, the alien lord removed the silver adornment that he wore over his genitals, and the brunette's eyes immediately widened. His reproductive organ was long, thick, and very hard. It was also red and muscular, just like the rest of his body.

Immediately, desire took hold of Kimberly, driving her to leave his bed. Smirking flirtatiously, she grabbed the hem of her nightie and tugged the cotton garment up and over her head, purposely keeping her Power Morpher strapped to her waist. She hadn't been wearing a bra, so the only barrier that now separated her and the warlord was her wet thong. And his mask, which apparently he did not like, for he reached behind his head and carefully unfastened it, allowing it to fall from his face.

The teenager wasn't sure what she had been expecting, or if she even had tried to imagine what Lord Zedd looked like beneath the mask before tonight, but his face resembled that of a serpent - two small holes for ears, two slits for nostrils, a lipless mouth that was filled with two rows of sharp, red-stained teeth, and a pair of green-yellow dragonesque eyes, which glowed brightly at her in the dimly lit room. "Zedd," she uttered, her heart racing.

"Kimberly," he lowly addressed her. "Please don't be frightened."

"I'm not," she assured him.

"You're shaking."

"Not from fear." The Power Ranger tugged her thong down her legs and gracefully stepped out of it then moved to close the distance between her and Zedd. However, he reached out and held her at arm's length so that he could fully admire her complete nakedness, save for the thin pink sash and Power Morpher that adorned her slim waist.

"You've seen me before," she softly reminded him.

He gave his head an abrupt shake. "Not like this, not in the flesh. You really are beautiful. Kimberly," Zedd stated, running his hands from her shoulders down her arms and drawing her into his muscular body.

Knowing what he wanted, the brunette tilted her face up; however, she couldn't stop her heart from pounding hard within her chest as the alien's pointed teeth drew closer to her mouth. She reckoned he could tear her face into shreds if he so desired.

Zedd must have sensed her trepidation, because he next informed her, "Kimberly, I have no intention of harming you."

Oddly enough, the teenager believed him and showed it by not retreating as his mouth touched hers. Despite his razor-sharp teeth, the warlord's kiss was slow, gentle - almost loving.

After a few long moments, Kimberly parted her lips. Without hesitation, Zedd's long, forked tongue entered her mouth. It felt slimmer and silkier than a human tongue, except for at its forked tip which was covered with small, pebbly bumps. When he extended his tongue to touch her tonsils, she could not help imagining what other places it would be able to reach. That thought alone made her wet. Very, very wet. She was ready to be joined as one with this magnificent being, so she pressed her dripping cunt against his erection, wordlessly telling him what she desired.

Lord Zedd effortlessly lifted the Pink Ranger up into his arms and carried her back to his bed. Laying her down on the red satin sheet, he positioned himself over her. "Are you sure about this, Kimberly? Because once it's done, there's no going back."

Raising herself up slightly on her elbows, the brunette passionately kissed her adversary being very mindful of his dragon-like teeth. When they finally broke apart, she breathlessly told him, "I don't want to go back, Zedd. Right now, I only want you."

With a low growl, the alien captured her mouth in another deep, heavy kiss. Kimberly felt the tip of his member probing at her entrance and spread her legs a little wider. She groaned loudly as the thick head of his long, veiny cock began penetrating her virgin cunt. Her tight walls stretched to accommodate his girth, but not without causing her a lot of discomfort. She winced and stiffened beneath him, every muscle tensed, which didn't help her cause.

"Shh, Kimberly, relax," Zedd soothed her, trying to reassure the obviously nervous teenager. "It will only hurt like this once, and I promise the pain will be short-lived." He then breached her hymen, sliding slowly and seemingly gingerly into completely virgin territory.

Sucking in a sharp breath, she gasped as he sheathed himself all the way inside of her until his pelvis pressed into hers.

"Fuck, you feel good," he murmured appreciatively. "So hot, so tight … "

Kimberly bent her knees slightly. She never knew it was possible to feel so utterly filled by someone. It felt indescribably amazing. And she wanted to experience more. Much more. "Zedd, fuck me. Please," she begged. "And don't hold anything back. I want to feel it all."

A low, sinister chortle rumbled in the alien's chest. "As you wish, my sweet," he acquiesced. Very slowly, he pulled his cock out, making sure the brunette felt every vein and ridge, until all that remained inside of her was its large, throbbing head. Zedd then slammed its entire length back into her, stealing her breath away. He repeated that identical motion several times over, purposely striking her cervix with each violent thrust. The stimulation was unreal, as was the orgasm it induced. Kimberly threw her head back and screamed as it tore straight through her.

Her reaction must have been enough to satisfy the evil warlord, because just moments after she came, he shuddered hard, shooting strings of his hot, thick seed straight into her womb. Wholly overcome with euphoria following her first sexual encounter, the teenager instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck, yanking his head down so that they could share a tender kiss. "You ... were right ... Zedd," she puffed while fighting to catch her breath. "That ... was ... moon-shattering."

"Indeed it was, Kimberly," he solemnly agreed while deliberately combing his fingers through her damp hair.

Smiling contentedly, the Pink Power Ranger closed her eyes. Before she was even aware that she was drifting off, she fell into a deep, sound sleep.


	3. May 25, 1996

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kimberly finds out that Tommy has been cheating on her, so she leaves Earth only to land on Lord Zedd's homeworld of Nogard where she meets a Nogardian woman called Zira.

**ONE DAY LATER**

**The Moon**

**May 25, 1996 (Earth Date)**

When Kimberly next opened her eyes, she found herself alone in Zedd's bed. She laid in it for a time, her mind revisiting the night's events. Although it had started off with her drinking a significant amount of wine, she didn't feel that her judgement had been impaired. No, she was certain what had happened between her and Zedd would have been consensual with or without the consumption of alcohol. Her lust for him ran too deep. Embarrassingly so.

Kimberly reminisced about the day two years prior when he had offered her his hand in marriage. Goldar had attempted casting a spell on her to make her forget all about her life as the Pink Ranger. Upon awakening, she had learned that Goldar had taken her to the Cave of Fantasy. Luckily for her, his magic hadn't worked. Or had it?

Zordon believed that dark spells had residual effects on their victims. If that was true, was her desire for Zedd merely a side effect from Goldar's blotched spell? That would make the most sense, considering her feelings for him hadn't developed until after that incident. It could be that her love for Tommy had held the effects of the spell at bay, but then when her love for him started to wane, it revived the spell's dark magic within her. Kimberly wanted her feelings for Zedd to be her own, but what if they weren't?

The idea that it had been a spell that had led her to his bed was too much for her to bear. The teenager wiped silent tears of anguish from her cheeks. She had to get out of Zedd's castle. _Now._ She slid out of bed, quickly dressed, and then strode out of the bedchamber.

For being in space, the atmosphere within the castle was surprisingly warm. Even clothed the way she was, Kimberly didn't feel cold. That made her suspect that Zedd had come from a hot planet and was accustomed to a certain amount of heat. It suited her just fine, considering the attire she was currently wearing.

Speaking of which, as much as Kimberly desired to leave the castle, she really didn't want anyone seeing her traipsing about wearing just her nightie. Then again, everyone in the castle probably knew she had spent the night in Lord Zedd's chamber. They'd be able to make their assumptions from there, and unlike with Tommy, their assumptions would be correct.

Although lovers might not be the most accurate term to describe her and Zedd's relationship, they most certainly had slept together. And, spell or not, there was no denying that the sex between them had been amazing. Kimberly would do it all again simply to feel him that deep inside of her.

 _Fuck._ She wanted the alien lord - the same as he wanted her. She didn't desire to sleep in any bed other than his, especially not after the night they had just shared. However, Kimberly needed the assurance that her feelings for him were true and not the residual effects of dark magic. But how was she ever going to know? Maybe it was simply one of those things she was going to have to accept. He had chosen her, and so now she was destined to choose him.

Kimberly climbed a set of stairs, which she discovered happened to lead to the throne room. Zedd stood on his balcony, facing Earth. She casually walked to his side. Her plan of telling him she needed to leave died on her tongue the moment he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her into him. She laid her cheek on the metal that adorned his chest, suddenly wishing she didn't have to go back home.

"Tommy and the other Rangers have left Angel Grove," Zedd informed her.

"He's probably going to lead a rescue mission," Kimberly guessed, "which means I should go. I really don't want them coming here."

"No, only you are allowed to come here, my sweet." He kissed her through his mask "As many times as you want."

The teenager smirked at his double meaning. "Subtle," she teased.

"Kimberly, you have a very dirty mind," he shot back.

"Right, only me." They kissed, again. Then some more.

"Tell me you want me to fuck you," Zedd murmured against her lips.

"Mmm, yes," Kimberly purred. Her loins felt like they were on fire, and her cunt was already sopping wet in preparation for his entry. "I want to be fucked by you, Zedd. Please fill me with your cock ..."

Without any warning, the warlord shoved her up against the balcony's railing. Before she knew it, his cock was out, her thong was off, and he was delving into her hot, slick folds. He met absolutely no resistance as he pumped in and out of her body at a frantic pace. It didn't take her long to reach her peak.

"That's it, my sweet, come for me," Zedd urged. "Soak me with your juices."

Kimberly obeyed just as he spent his seed where she wanted it most. Even after they both redressed, it dribbled out of her cunt and into the crotch of her thong. "I'm spent," she lightly complained while leaning into Zedd's chest as he held her.

He pressed a firm kiss to her crown. "I should probably send you home before your parents start missing you."

"They're used to it," replied Kimberly, with some guilt.

"Even so," said Zedd. He released her, and she automatically reached for the small silver communicator that was strapped to her wrist in place of a watch. "Don't bother, Pink Ranger. It won't work here." He dropped his voice so that it rumbled in her ear. "You are at my mercy."

The petite brunette gave her much taller companion a long look. "I have a feeling I have been at your mercy for the past two years, Zedd - ever since Goldar put that damn spell on me."

The alien lord didn't affirm or deny Kimberly's accusation. Instead, he wielded his staff and pointed its "Z" at her. "Remember, the Purple Power Coin is yours if you want it," he clipped.

Before she had a chance to respond, a red mist enveloped the teenager. One moment, she was standing on Zedd's balcony. The next, she was back in her bedroom. Tears stung her eyes at his cold farewell. However, she was still the Pink Ranger, thus she was still his enemy. The only way they'd be on the same side was if she accepted his offer to become the Purple Ranger.

Kimberly felt completely overwhelmed by the decisions she would soon have to make. She walked to her dresser to choose a fresh set of undergarments. While sifting through her lingerie, she realized that everything she owned had the color pink in it. Well, not quite everything.

A while back, she and the Yellow Ranger, Aisha Campbell, had gone shopping together at Victoria's Secret. Kimberly had ended up buying a red satin bra and panty set on a whim. At the time, Aisha had teased Kimberly about it, asking if she had been secretly pining for Rocky DeSantos, the Red Ranger. The two girls had both laughed it off, but now Kimberly understood the reason behind her spontaneous purchase. And it was dark. Very dark.

Sighing, the teenager grabbed the lingerie and then ambled over to her closet. She pulled her fuchsia gingham sundress from its hanger. Normally, she'd wear a rose-pink t-shirt underneath it, but not today. Today, she would let the thin red straps of her skimpy bra show. That would show Zedd that she was still thinking of him - that being intimate with him had meant something special to her, despite the spell.

Nothing they had done left Kimberly feeling abused or violated in any way. Hell, each time Zedd had asked for her consent. She hadn't felt coerced by him at all. Spell or not, there hadn't been a single time when she hadn't felt in control of her own actions, and maybe that was all that mattered.

Taking a deep breath, the brunette left her room to take a shower. She wasn't sure if the warlord's eyes were on her or on the other Rangers, but just for fun, she decided to give him a bit of a show using a newly opened bar of soap. She flattened her back against the stall's side wall and splayed her legs wide as she worked the thick bar into her wet folds. She wished it was Zedd's cock that was fucking her, but the stimulation inside her cunt and on her clit still felt really good.

Kimberly's lust for the alien lord ran a lot deeper than the bar of soap could reach. However, right now that was all she had. That, and her fingers. Gone was the seemingly perfect girl, who could do no wrong. In her stead stood a woman, whose only desire now was to be with one of the most diabolical beings in the universe. Lord Zedd.

Moaning and panting, the Pink Ranger came hard, her juices coating the soap and her fingers. She spread her labia wide open, exposing her cream before the shower's cooling spray rinsed it all away. She then went on to wash her hair, pretending like nothing had happened. But Zedd knew better. She was sure he had taken his eyes off the Rangers so that he could watch her play with herself.

Even now, her abused and swollen cunt yearned for more action, yet it would have to wait. Kimberly had more pressing matters that needed her attention first. Then, maybe later, she'd be able to scratch that itch with something other than her fingers and "toys", for she hoped that Zedd would accept that she could not make her decision just yet. She did not want to torture them both by prolonging her decision, but it was too serious a matter not to deserve serious thought. However, for better or for worse, she suspected that her destiny was to be his.

Kimberly slid open the stall's frosted-glass door and started when her brown eyes fell upon a note lying on the bathroom vanity. Inscribed in silver on the small piece of red paper were two simple words: "Very naughty." Yes, it appeared that the alien warlord _had_ been watching her; but she thought, or at least hoped, the lack of any admonition for her failure to give him an answer meant he respected her need for more time.

The brunette proceeded to dry her body with a peppermint-pink, fluffy towel and slipped into her red satin lingerie. She rubbed a finger up and down her slit a few times, just enough to stain the front of the panties with her excitement. Then, she stepped into her sundress and pulled it up past the bra which barely covered her taut nipples. Without the t-shirt underneath, the dress looked really sexy on her. She liked it. A lot.

After taking care of her dirty laundry and slipping on a pair of short, brown leather boots, Kimberly wandered downstairs to the kitchen. Her mother was sitting at the table, sipping on a cup of coffee. The younger poured herself a mug before sitting down across from her mom.

"So, Tommy stopped by last night, huh?" Mrs. Hart asked.

"He was drunk," Kimberly bitterly told her, "and a real jerk. I'm breaking up with him."

"After just one argument? Kimberly ... " her mother scolded.

"Mom, it's been over for awhile now," the teenager insisted. "What happened last night was just the last straw."

"I take it you finally told him that you'll be attending the University of Michigan in the Fall?"

Kimberly shrugged. "Yeah … well … kind of, and he was pretty upset about it."

Her mother gave her a stern look. "And rightly so. That conversation was long overdue, Kimberly."

"I know, but he still didn't have to react the way he did."

"You said he was intoxicated?"

Kimberly scoffed, disgusted at her former boyfriend's behavior. "Yeah. Apparently, he had been drinking with the guys. Can you believe that? Drinking. All of them."

"Oh, don't be too hard on them, darling. I recall having a few drinks myself when I graduated from high school. Knowing them, I'm sure it was just a one-time thing."

"So that's it?" Kimberly snapped. "That's all you're going to say? Tommy acted like a complete ass last night, and I'm just supposed to be okay with it? Well, I'm not. Not by a long shot. He assaulted me, Mom. And he would have gone even further if it hadn't been for -" She stopped herself just in the nick of time, yet her mother's brow still lifted.

"If it hadn't been for what, darling?"

Kimberly stared at her mom. Because of her choice to become a Power Ranger, she had been forced to keep so many secrets from her parents, and she was really starting to resent Zordon for that. Surely he could have trusted their parents to guard their secret to avoid all the lies. Well, there was one lie she refused to tell. "Mom, there's somebody else. There has been for a while now."

Mrs. Hart's blue eyes narrowed. "You cheated on Tommy?"

"Never," Kimberly said. "I never would have cheated on Tommy. I loved him. So much." And that was the truth. For two years, her heart had belonged to him. It hadn't been until July of the previous year that the fire between them started to die. That was when he had declined to spend the night with her. But it wasn't even that which had bothered her. It had been his excuse.

If Tommy would have just told her that he wasn't ready to sleep with her yet, Kimberly would have understood. However, not wanting to even touch her … well, that hadn't left her feeling very loved by him at all. His rejection had hurt, and in the weeks following, her love for him had gradually faded, igniting her feelings for Zedd, all thanks to Goldar's spell.

"Kimberly, darling, are you all right?"

Angry at Tommy and now also at her mother, Kimberly rose from her chair. "I'm going out," she curtly replied. "I'll be back in awhile."

Despite her mother's protest to wait, Kimberly stormed out of the house, heading straight for the lake. There was something about being by water that always calmed her, and that was what she needed right now. She had to figure out her next step.

Once she reached the lake, Kimberly sat down with her back resting against the trunk of a tree. She gazed out across the water. A blonde girl swimming laps instantly caught her attention. From what she could see, the girl looked to be about Kimberly's age, and she was quite pretty.

Kimberly turned her eyes away from the girl only to discover that Tommy, along with the other four Rangers, was also sitting near the lake but far enough away for her presence to go completely unnoticed. They, too, were watching the blonde girl.

"Hey, Kat!" called Aisha. "Take a break, will you? We have food!" She gestured to a picnic basket that sat in the center of the small group.

The girl Aisha had called Kat instantly stopped swimming. "Food sounds great!" she sweetly exclaimed in an Australian accent.

Kat stood up, and Kimberly scoffed in spite of herself. The Australian was sporting a pink one-piece swimsuit. Of all the colors in the rainbow, it just had to be pink. Of course.

It appeared Zordon had seen the telltale signs that Kimberly was ready to retire as a Power Ranger and had already chosen her replacement. Good for him. Now all she had to do was turn in her Power Coin, and her life as the Pink Ranger would be over.

Kat smiled as she approached the other Rangers. She sat down next to Tommy. They shared a brief yet affectionate kiss before he reached into the picnic basket to retrieve a sandwich for her. In that brief moment, Kimberly's heart broke, and what was even worse, she knew Zedd's eyes were on her. She had to get away from him - from everyone - to deal with the pain and intense anger she was suddenly feeling.

Kimberly rose to her feet. The last place the Rangers had visited was the relatively peaceful jungle planet called Rojah located galaxies away from Earth. That was where she decided to go.

The Pink Ranger tapped a button on her communicator, intending to be transported back to Rojah. When her feet finally touched ground, she expected to be surrounded by jungle flora and fauna. Instead, though, she found herself standing in a village that had been constructed in the shadow of a very tall mountain. The structures were all made out of various types of stone. When she looked more closely, she could not help but be stunned by the way the rocks from which they were built glittered like gemstones in the amber sunlight that shone down from the planet's scarlet sky. Much of the stone most resembled dark grey granite threaded with bands and veins of multicoloured opalescence, but others flashed dark green and violet like Alexandrite, some were a clear, pale, smoky, crystalline gold that reminded her of quartz, and one building seemed to have been constructed entirely from large blocks of smooth, forest green malachite, shimmering blue-green chrysocolla, and deep blue, gold-flecked lapis lazuli, all embedded with multifaceted sparkling aquamarines and peridots. Kimberly stared at them in awe. They were absolutely breathtaking.

"Welcome, Earthling."

Kimberly nearly jumped right out of her skin at the sound of the gentle voice behind her. She spun around and gasped. Standing there was a being who looked similar to Zedd but with a few distinct differences. This being was definitely female, apparent from her extremely feminine curves. She wore a skimpy metal bikini paired with knee-high metal boots. Instead of silver like Zedd's, her adornments were icy-blue in color, a few shades lighter than her large cobalt-blue eyes. Unlike him, too, the woman's brain was not exposed. A full head of shimmery silver hair cascaded from the top of her scalp to the small of her back. She also didn't wear a mask of any type.

The woman had a mouth similar to Zedd's, but not nearly as intimidating, because it lacked the two rows of sharp pointed teeth. However, the tall, slender spear crafted from a solid length of icy-blue metal with a delicate "z" separating the dangerously sharp, triangular silver tip from the shaft clasped firmly in her fist gave the teenager immediate pause, for she did not know its owner's intent.

"H-hello," Kimberly replied, returning the creature's cordial greeting, yet the tremor in her voice instantly betrayed her fear.

"Relax, Earthling; you have nothing to fear from me," the female being said. "Others, perhaps, but I am safe. My allegiance is to Lord Zedd - always has been. I am called Zira."

"Zira," the teenager repeated, committing the name to memory. "My name is Kimberly."

"Yes, Lord Zedd already prepared me for your arrival, Kimberly. Come. Please."

As the brunette followed Zira, she asked, "So, do you really speak English here?"

"Lord Zedd speaks many languages, but unfortunately I am not quite as worldly as he. Right now, we are speaking in Nogardian, which is the native language here on Nogard."

 _"We?_ " Kimberly questioned. "How is that possible?"

"Arglwydd Zedd must have bewitched you with a swyn," Zira simply replied, 'swyn' meaning 'spell'. "He knows a lot of magic, some of it very dark."

 _The wine_ , Kimberly bitterly thought. _I bet he put something in the damn wine he gave me._ She now suspected that she and Zedd had conversed with each other in Nogardian during her stay on the moon. "That sneaky bastard," she hissed. After all, he was also the one who had tampered with her communicator while she had slept.

"Ydw, but in your case, I believe he means well," Zira said in Zedd's defense.

"History proves otherwise," Kimberly insisted. "A while ago, Goldar struck me with a swyn on Zedd's behalf. At first it didn't work, but something has happened to change that."

The Nogardian ruefully nodded. "Ydw, swynion like Arglwydd Zedd's and his henchmen's are tricky and can be unpredictable. It sometimes only takes one specific thing to activate or trigger them."

"It was a swyn serch of sorts," Kimberly offered, referring to Goldar's love spell or as Nogardians would say, 'swyn serch'. "I was in love with someone else at the time, so the swyn didn't work. But then, my feelings for my boyfriend started changing. And his did, too, apparently … " Her voice trailed off as she recalled Tommy and Kat's kiss, which seemed very familiar between them as though they had done it many times before.

Even worse, though, none of their friends had ever spoken a word about Tommy's new fling with Kat to Kimberly, not even her best friend Aisha. She never felt so betrayed in all her life. Or so foolish. God, how dense in the head was she?

"Kimberly, you do not look well," Zira noted. "Come, we are almost to fy tŷ. But first … " she unclenched a fist and held out a red, glowing crystal ring in the shape of a "Z", "put this on."

Kimberly looked at the ring, skeptical.

"Go on," Zira encouraged. "It's Arglwydd Zedd's modrwy teulu. He wished for me to loan it to you. It will protect you from harm while you are here."

Kimberly took the unique piece of jewelry and asked, "On which finger does one traditionally wear a modrwy teulu?"

Zira smiled kindly at the teenager and pointed to the second finger of the latter's right hand. "That one."

"Diolch," Kimberly said, conveying her thanks as she slid Zedd's family ring, or 'modrwy teulu', onto the appropriate finger. The ring was loose at first but then magically adjusted itself to the correct size.

"Ironically, Arglwydd Zedd could have his choice of any female on Nogard, and he chose you, an Earthling. You will be loathed by many of them, but no one will dare harm you whilst you wear his ring. Arglwydd Zedd's wrath is infamous, and he would not hesitate to destroy someone for getting too close to you." Zira looked at Kimberly. "Believe it or not, he does care for you. A lot."

"Yeah, well, he has a strange way of showing it at times," the teenager truthfully replied.

"Don't all males?" the Nogardian countered.

"True, I'll give you that," Kimberly stated, her mood darkening even further as her thoughts drifted momentarily to Tommy.

An incredibly lovely, one-storey stone house, or 'tŷ' as Nogardians called it, came into view, and unlike the other structures that she had seen since arriving on the alien planet, it was very isolated, with no neighbors in sight. Despite how comparatively small the building was, the stones from which it was constructed were the most beautiful Kimberly had seen so far. The majority of the stonework had been fashioned from smooth, arm-size slabs of bright, peacock-blue rock with an opalescent teal sheen threaded with veins of navy and black that resembled shimmering labradorite, but there were also blocks of silvery moonstone and fiery bluish-white opal set among the labradorite slabs in an arresting, intricate pattern that took her breath away. Even the door set in its chrysocolla frame was stunning, seemingly wrought from pure silver and set with carved and faceted teardrops of blue diamond in a pattern like dragon scales. The sight rendered Kimberly momentarily speechless.

"We're here," Zira announced. She pressed a palm against the front door to unlock it. The door slid open, and Zira gestured for Kimberly to enter the magnificent structure. "It's not much, but it will do."

"Oh, do you not live here?" the teenager asked while looking around the exotic living space. The stonework was just as intricate on the interior as it was on the exterior. She wanted to study it in greater detail, but Zira kept moving at a steady pace.

"Not full-time, and I never have guests over," said Zira. She guided Kimberly down a candlelit hallway. "I made an exception for you, per Arglwydd Zedd's direct orders. He warned me you were going to be upset upon your arrival. As such, he wished to give you a place of solitude where you didn't have to worry about being disturbed by anyone, including him."

"That's very kind of him,"

"Ydw, unusually so. Rarely does Arglwydd Zedd act so generously. It should not be taken lightly."

Zira stopped in front of a closed door. She gently grabbed hold of Kimberly's hand and used it to open the metal barrier. "I'm going to leave you now to go hunting. There is fresh Draigwaed in the pitcher on the bedside table. Please drink it. It will help nourish and hydrate you."

"Draigwaed?" Kimberly asked, understanding that the word translated to dragon blood.

"Ydw," Zira bluntly affirmed. "It is our most revered drink here on Nogard. It provides us with everything we need to survive. It will do the same for you. Despite what you may think, it tastes delicious."

"Draigwaed," Kimberly repeated, trying hard not to make a face.

Zira gave her a stern look. "Ydw, and you _will_ drink it. The temperature on Nogard will soon begin to rise. The Draigwaed will keep your body's core temperature low enough for you to survive. Nogardians are safe from the intense heat. You, Earthling, are not."

Kimberly nodded, now understanding the severity of the situation. "Iawn," she simply said, using the Nogardian word for 'okay'.

Zira'a expression softened. "I must leave now. If you need anything - "

Kimberly felt the color rise in her cheeks as a full bladder forced her to ask, "Dim ond yr ystafell ymolchi?"

Zira gestured to a closed door on the far wall that obviously led to the bathroom. "There. Your handprint will open the door. Anything else?"

The teenager shook her head. "Na, diolch. I should be fine."

"Very well. Diwrnod dda, Kimberly."

"Diwrnod dda, Zira," the brunette replied, repeating the Nogardian's sentiment of 'good day'.

The door to Kimberly's quarters closed, leaving her alone in the room. She walked over to the small table that stood next to the bed. She peeked into the short, ceramic pitcher. It was filled almost to the brim with an opaque maroon liquid.

Kimberly raised the pitcher to her lips and took a tentative sip. To her surprise, the Draigwaed tasted sweet, at least to her taste buds. She drank some more. Before she knew it, she reached the bottom of the pitcher. She set it back down on the nightstand. Then, she went to use the bathroom.

* * *

Kimberly felt so much better after relieving her aching bladder. She was glad she didn't need to worry about Zedd, although she hoped he had used some discretion when watching her in the past. However, she would never know for sure, and she decided that was for the best. Moving forward, though, she intended to put certain rules in place to ensure her privacy.

Not knowing what else to do, Kimberly stretched out on the bed and released a heavy sigh. How could she have been so completely oblivious to the signs that Tommy had found someone else? Had she really been that absorbed in her own life? Sure, she was putting more time into her gymnastics training and into school. Without good grades, she wouldn't be able to accept the scholarship she had earned from the University of Michigan. So, yes, her priorities had changed, but that was when her feelings for Tommy had also changed. And vice versa, except when he had been drunk. Then, his true feelings had revealed themselves.

Kat obviously didn't know about that incident. Kimberly had half a mind to tell her, but, honestly, right now, she just wanted to be done with them all. And they obviously felt the same about her. Fine. Whatever. If they didn't want to be her friends anymore, so be it. But it hurt. Boy, did it hurt.

Tears formed in Kimberly's eyes. Since she knew she was alone, she let the droplets roll down her face. She didn't cry often, but this was the second time in a span of one Earth day that she had shed tears. How Tommy had treated her the night before was deplorable, but it was her friends' betrayal that brought forth this particular batch of tears. No matter what, the other Rangers would never challenge their 'great' leader, the White Ranger.

Well, not her. Kat was welcome to take her place. Kimberly's time as the Pink Ranger was over. All she had to do now was make it official. Then, she'd be able to move forward with her life as she deemed fit. And that's what she wanted more than anything.

A soft knock sounded on the chamber door. Wiping her face, the brunette rose to answer it. On the other side of the threshold stood Zira.

"I have returned with a kill," the Nogardian boasted. "We will eat soon."

"That didn't take you long," Kimberly replied, impressed.

"I was gone longer than you think." Zira reached out a hand and gently pressed it against the teenager's damp cheek. "You appear distressed."

Kimberly took comfort in the physical touch. "I was," she admitted, "but I'm all right now."

"Perhaps you'd like to freshen up while I prepare the pryd?" Zira inquired, speaking in regards to the preparation of the meal.

Although Zira's suggestion was asked as a question, Kimberly took it as a command. "Ydw, diolch. I'd like that."

The Nogardian woman offered the younger woman a warm smile and then lowered her hand. "Dda. I will leave you to it, then. Oh, and there are fresh garments for you in the wardrobe, if you wish to wear something else. The choice is yours."

The brunette smirked slightly. "Is it, or are you just saying that?"

Zira shook her head. "You are not a prisoner here, Kimberly. You are my guest. Arglwydd Zedd just thought you might like something more comfortable to wear during your stay."

"And I appreciate that," Kimberly replied, trying not to sound ungrateful, "but my stay right now is going to be short, I'm afraid. I have other obligations that cannot wait."

"I see, but the final meal of the day, or Swper, on Nogard is treated very formally. It is a time for teuluoedd to reunite after a long day and become a unit once again. Teulu is very important to us."

Kimberly sighed, but at the same time she understood that even on Earth some cultures revered the nuclear family and even extended kin. "Please believe me; I mean no disrespect to your customs, Zira, but I am not Nogardian and neither am I part of your teulu. I'm just a simple Earthling."

Zira scoffed. "A simple Earthling indeed. You have caught the eye of the most powerful Nogardian ever to rule over our world. Arglwydd Zedd obviously holds you in very high esteem."

"I don't know why," Kimberly truthfully said. "We've always been enemies, and then one day, poof, he suddenly decides he wants me as his wife. It doesn't make any sense."

"Once Arglwydd Zedd sets his mind to conquer something, he won't stop until he claims victory."

The teenager's heart sank. "Which includes me."

Zira soberly nodded. "Ydw, but if it's any consolation, I do not agree with what he did. However, what is done is done. Swynion of such complexity cannot be reversed."

"I thought as much," Kimberly said. "I just wish I could have made this decision on my own instead of him making it for me. The desire I have for him is unbearable at times."

"Ydw, I'm very familiar with that feeling, though mine was not a product of a swyn, I'm afraid."

Kimberly blinked. "Wait, are you implying that you and Zedd were, um, involved?"

Zira chuckled at the teenager's embarrassment. "Ydw, Kimberly, at one point in history, Arglwydd Zedd and I were mêts, but those days are long gone. I have since been bonded with two different males. I am still bonded with one, but he does not reside here on Nogard."

"And Zedd? How many wives has he had?" Kimberly wondered aloud.

Zira laid a gentle hand on the brunette's shoulder. "Kimberly, Nogardians take the sanctity of bonding very seriously. Once the bonding is consummated, the only way to break it is by forcing the mated pair to battle until one destroys the other. Whichever one wins is free to seek out another mêt. Arglwydd Zedd himself has been bonded six times in his lifetime, and he obviously came out the victor after each unbonding ritual."

Kimberly blinked in shock. "And there's still Nogardians out there that want to be his wife?"

"Ydw, of course there are," Zira emphatically confirmed. "Being chosen to fulfill the role of Arglwydd Zedd's bondiomêt, or spouse, as you would say, is a great honor, even if it means potential death. However, nearly eight decades have passed since his last bond, and the females on this planet know that it's only a matter of time before he seeks out Bondiomêt Number Seven. Once they find out he has chosen an outsider as his newest mêt, they will be out for your blood. Hence the modrwy."

"Iawn, so bonding is sanctified by anyone not named Zedd, but one is clearly allowed to have sex outside of bonding."

"Ydw, as long as the participants agree to it. Despite the darkness within him, Arglwydd Zedd abhors rape. It is not tolerated on Nogard. Not at all."

"Tommy got very lucky then."

Zira's brow furrowed. "Tommy?" she repeated, obviously hearing the name in English instead of Nogardian. "Is that your boyfriend's name?"

"My soon-to-be _ex_ -boyfriend's name" Kimberly bitterly corrected. "He is also an enemy of Zedd's, moreso even now, though."

"Why? What happened?"

"He came over to fy tŷ drunk last night and molested me, and Zedd intervened. He threatened to kill Tommy, but he didn't."

"Because of you, I'm assuming," Zira guessed.

Kimberly nodded. "I begged Zedd to spare Tommy's life, and he listened."

"Goldar may have put a swyn on you, but it seems as though you have utterly bewitched Arglwydd Zedd, which is no small feat." Zira removed her hand from the teenager's shoulder and pressed a firm kiss to the latter's crown. "Kimberly, you have my trust."

The teenager could tell that the Nogardian's words bore significant weight. She regarded Zira silently for a long moment and then said, "You have mine as well."

Zira solemnly nodded. "I vow never to betray it."

"Not will I," Kimberly swore.

"Dda. Nawr, I must prepare the bwyd for Swper," said Zira, referring to the food.

"And I will look my best," Kimberly told her.

"Diolch."

Zira walked away, and Kimberly closed the chamber door and headed to the bathroom. She had made a promise to the Nogardian, and she had no intention of breaking it.

* * *

Kimberly bathed in a large stone basin of cool, sea-green water. It felt refreshing compared to the warm temperature inside of the house. The Draigwaed helped a lot, but it didn't keep her completely immune to Nogard's intense heat. She sank down further into the deep basin so that she could dunk her head beneath the water. The moment she resurfaced, a deep, familiar voice spoke to her.

"Enjoying yourself, cariad?"

Zedd's abrupt appearance was a surprise but definitely not an unwelcome one. Kimberly swam over to the edge of the basin next to where he was standing. He was adorned but unmasked. His green-yellow eyes glinted at her in such a way that she didn't even have to guess as to what he wanted. She knew, and she wanted it, too. "I am, but I also wouldn't mind some company. Care to join me, Zedd?"

He responded by removing his violet cape and all his silver adornments. He then stepped into the water with her. To Kimberly's amazement, he was not aroused, at least not yet. He sat down on a seat then reached for her, hoisting her onto his lap. He didn't do anything other than tenderly stroke her back. She let her head fall against his shoulder. He didn't seem to expect anything more from her than just allowing him to hold her, which suited her just fine.

"You're stressed," he softly voiced. "I can feel it."

"I'm fine," she said. That was her automatic answer for everything. 'How's school? Fine. How are your parents? Fine. How are gymnastics going? Fine.' Everything was always 'fine'. It didn't matter if she had done poorly on a test or if her parents were fighting or if she hadn't performed well in gymnastics. Hell, no one even knew that her parents had considered getting a divorce within the last year. Well, except for Zedd, most likely. He had probably seen their fights just as much as she had, if not more.

"Kimberly, don't lie to me," he gruffly warned.

The teenager did not take offense at her mêt's anger. He had every right to call her out on her lie. He was the only one recently who had, and believe it or not, she appreciated that. "Ymddiheuraf, Zedd, she apologized. "I didn't mean to really say that. Of course I'm not fine. You know as well as anybody that I'm not, which is why I am here instead of on Earth." She tilted her head up to meet his eyes. "You tampered with my communicator."

"Ydw," he bluntly replied. "I figured it was just a matter of time before you found out about Katherine, and I knew you would run before unleashing your anger on your ffrindiau or Zordon. I didn't want you going anywhere else but here. I trust Zira."

"So do I," Kimberly truthfully told him. "I like her a lot."

Zedd lightly kissed her lips. "You have no idea how much it pleases me to hear you say that, cariad."

They shared another kiss, more passionate than the first.

"Does Zira know you're here?" Kimberly asked against Zedd's sharp, red-stained teeth.

"Na, not yet."

"So we have time to fuck?"

Zedd chortled. "Cariad, rest assured, I'll always make time for that."

Grinning, Kimberly shifted herself on his lap so that she was completely facing him with her calves squeezing his thick, muscular thighs. As she slipped her arms around his neck, he wrapped his around her waist, allowing his hands to tightly clutch her ass cheeks. With Zedd's guidance, the teenager gradually accepted his girth one inch at a time until he was fully sheathed inside of her. "God, you feel so good," she sighed.

"As do you, Kimberly." When she began rocking against him, he said, "Don't come until I say." He then slipped his forked tongue into her mouth and a ways down her throat.

Since Kimberly couldn't speak, she groaned in protest to Zedd's request. Just feeling him inside of her was almost enough to make her orgasm by itself. To torture her even further, he thrust up into her with so much force it stole her breath away. He must have enjoyed her reaction, because he repeated the violent motion twice more, making sure to strike her g-spot each time.

Kimberly was on the verge of tears, she needed to come so badly. With one powerful thrust, her mêt drove deep into her until the head of his cock reached her cervix, pressing hard against it. A scream was ripped from her throat as an electric shockwave of pure euphoria surged through her, combusting and consuming every nerve in her body, which left her quivering in its wake for several unquiet minutes. Zedd stopped kissing her and simply held her securely in his arms while she recovered from the intoxicating, ungodly orgasm.

Without warning, the bathroom door slid open. Zira dashed into the room looking frantic. She stopped short when her wide, cobalt-blue eyes landed on the Nogardian warlord. He strategically shifted his arms to preserve Kimberly's modestly, yet he remained buried deep inside of her.

Zira now looked absolutely mortified. "Arglwydd Zedd!" she gasped, hastily bowing low at the waist. "I was not expecting you, yet."

"Clearly," he replied, sounding more amused than angry.

Zira straightened to her full height. "Kimberly, ymddiheuraf," she sincerely apologized. "I thought I heard you scream."

"You did," the teenager admitted, without embarrassment. In return, Zedd tenderly nuzzled her crown.

Once Zira realized that neither Kimberly nor Zedd had any scruples with her finding them in such an intimate embrace, she visibly relaxed. "Swper is nearly ready," she softly announced.

"I should get dressed," said Kimberly; however, her mêt refused to let her go.

"Zira, would you be so kind as to retrieve the pinc evening gown from Kimberly's wardrobe, please?"

"Ydw, of course, fy arglwydd."

Once Zira left to obey Zedd's bidding, the brunette scowled at him. "Pinc? Really?"

"Kimberly, you still are the Ceidwad Pŵer Pinc, are you not?" he countered, calling her the Nogardian term for Pink Power Ranger.

"Ydw, well, about that … I planned to give the Darn Arian Pŵer Pinc back to Zordon tonight," Kimberly truthfully told him in reference to the Pink Power Coin. "You and I both know he's already chosen Kat to be the new Ceidwad Pinc, so there's no reason for me to keep it anymore."

Zedd pinned her under an intense stare. "Perhaps there is," he said. "Are you ready to accept the Darn Arian Pŵer Porffor?"

Kimberly ruefully shook her head. "Na."

"Then, I will ask you to wait to surrender your Darn Arian Pŵer. I don't want you staying on Nogard without the ability to morph."

Kimberly raised an eyebrow at her mêt. "I have your modrwy."

"Which will protect you here on this planet, but I have many enemies, who will not hesitate to harm you, _especially_ because you wear fy modrwy."

Kimberly soberly nodded. "I'll watch my back."

"As will I," the warlord promised as his eyes drifted down from her pert breasts to her cock-filled cunt, "along with you front."

Kimberly leaned forward and carefully kissed him. "Of course you will."

Zedd let her kiss him one last time before lifting her off his lap. At her disappointed look, he said, "Don't worry, cariad. I'm not sleeping in any bed but yours tonight."

The teenager grinned. "Dda."

The Nogardian exited the basin. Kimberly watched him rehook all his adornments and cape onto his muscular body. She enjoyed how fluidly he moved despite his tall height. She suspected she could learn a lot from him.

Zira tapped on the door and then let herself back into the bathroom. Draped over her left forearm hung a taffy-pink, charmeuse two-piece gown that glistened like stardust in the low light. Kimberly had never seen such beautiful fabric in all her life.

"Arglwydd Zedd created it," Zira said, following the teenager's gaze.

Kimberly shifted her brown eyes to her mêt. "Diolch," she sincerely said. "It's breathtaking.

"So are you."

Kimberly smirked, not quite believing him. Tommy had called her beautiful all the time, and yet it hadn't stopped his eye from wandering. She began to wonder if there was something wrong with her that not even the Nogardian warlord was seeing.

"Tommy is a damn fool," he said, as though reading her thoughts.

"Ydw, you keep saying that," she quipped.

"And I will keep saying it until you start believing me. Katherine has nothing on you, Kimberly. Absolutely nothing."

"Well, if that was true, he and I would still be together, right?" the brunette flippantly countered. "There's obviously something about Kat that he prefers, like her Australian accent or her blonde hair."

Kimberly often used sarcasm as a defense mechanism to cope with pain, and right now was no different. She didn't want Zedd or anyone knowing just now deeply Tommy had hurt her. She'd deal with her feelings later, on her own, like she always did.

"What's wrong with your hair?" Zira asked the teenager, appearing genuinely confused.

"Nothing," Zedd curtly answered. "Kimberly's being snarky."

"Only a little," the Pink Ranger said in her defense.

The warlord scoffed. "Just get out of the tub, Kimberly. He turned to Zira and said, "I will finish cooking Swper. I want you to remain here with Kimberly and help her dress."

"As you wish, fy arglwydd."

When Zedd strode from the room, the brunette climbed out of the basin. "I'm not sure I trust Zedd finishing the bwyd," she quietly voiced, only half joking.

Zira sighed. "You'll never fully trust him, will you?"

Kimberly gave her head a small shake. "But after what he's done, can you really blame me?"

"Na, I can't," Zira regretfully replied as she dabbed Kimberly's wet skin with a towel. "However, I doubt he would put you under another swyn of that magnitude. Mixing too many swynion together is dangerous and could possibly destroy you. After seeing you two together, I know Arglwydd Zedd will not risk harming you. You are his, Kimberly."

The teenager nodded. "I know. It's just really hard right now because I am still his sworn enemy. Despite my ill feelings towards my group of ffrindiau, I will not let him conquer Earth. I will not act on the side of evil."

Zira exchanged the towel for a taffy-pink, charmeuse panty, which she handed to Kimberly. "Has Arglwydd Zedd asked that of you?"

"Well, not in so many words," the brunette admitted as she stepped into the shimmering undergarment, "but he wants me to become the Ceidwad Pŵer Porffor, so it was implied."

"Directly by him, or is that your own assumption?" Zira firmly asked, reaching for the top half of the two-piece gown.

Kimberly stared at the Nogardian woman, feeling utterly ashamed by her prejudice. "That's something I really need to discuss with Zedd, isn't it?"

"That probably wouldn't be a bad idea."

Zira helped the younger dress. Once fully clothed, Kimberly discovered that her new apparel possessed the same magic as Zedd's ring. The gown's short, charmeuse bodice that ended just below her breasts, along with its thin, intricately braided shoulder straps, molded themselves perfectly to fit the contours of her petite but shapely body. From low on her trim waist, an ankle-length, diaphanous skirt flowed freely to her feet. The lightweight material was slit on both sides nearly up to its intricate red and silver embroidered waistband to allow for freedom of movement.

"The material feels so cool," Kimberly appreciatively noted while stashing her Power Morpher away into a hidden pocket within the skirt's decorated waistband, which Zedd had clearly designed for that sole purpose.

"Again, that's Arglwydd Zedd's doing," Zira replied. She bent to slip Kimberly's feet into a pair of taffy-pink charmeuse slippers which completed the brunette's extravagant ensemble. "He's obviously trying to make your stay on Nogard as comfortable as possible. I've never seen him so attentive, not even towards his former bondiomêts." Zira's expression softened as she straightened to her full height. "You're good for him, Kimberly, and for Nogard as well. It would benefit greatly from being ruled by someone of your character."

"I don't seek power," Kimberly sternly stated.

Zira's blue eyes gleamed at her. "Which is all the better." She handed the teenager a faintly yellowed white comb that could only have been made from some type of bone. "I should see how Arglwydd Zedd is faring with the pryd. Please join us when you are ready."

Zira walked out of the bathroom. Kimberly ran the comb through her shoulder-length hair a few times and then left to find her hostess. She rounded a corner but stopped short when she heard Zira's voice.

"Kimberly's a charming girl, fy arglwydd. I like her a lot."

"But … ?" Zedd asked.

"The swyn serch. Was it really necessary?"

"That wasn't me," the Nogardian lord growled. "It was Goldar."

"Who I assume was acting on your orders," Zira accused.

"I never told him to put her under a swyn serch, because I knew she was too much in love with her boyfriend Tommy Oliver for it to work. And I was right. The whole fiasco only made her want him even more. But on the night she was ready to give him everything, he rejected her."

"Your doing?" Zira asked

Kimberly waited with bated breath for Zedd's answer.

"Na, Rita Repulsa's. The dark magic that still dwells within Tommy is of _her_ doing, not mine. Zordon made him the Ceidwad Gwyn and the leader of the Ceidwaid Pŵer, but he is far from pure. The Ceidwad Gwyrdd was created with evil intentions that not even Zordon's powers can fully vanquish. Unfortunately, Kimberly found that out first-hand."

"Which activated Goldar's swyn," said Zira.

"Ydw," Zedd confirmed, "but even then, her love for Tommy was still too strong for the swyn to instantaneously take hold. However, over the span of the past Earth year, her feelings for him began to fade, which gave her feelings for me the chance to develop. It was a gradual process, but one that I enjoyed immensely."

"I bet you did, Zedd," said Kimberly, finally making her presence known. How many times had she touched herself underneath her blankets thinking no one was watching? More than she cared to admit. Yet there was that naughty part of her that was glad he had been watching - and enjoying.

"Ah, cariad, you look ravishing." He stole her hand to give it a tender kiss. "That gown suits you."

Kimberly blushed at the compliment, because she could tell it was sincere. "It should," she countered, giving him a playful smile, "considering you are the one who created it.'

"Are you saying I have good taste?"

Kimberly's brow lifted. "Well, you did choose _me_ , didn't you?"

"Touché," Zedd said with a low chuckle.

Zira also chortled. "Better watch yourself, fy arglwydd. She'll keep you on your toes."

Bowing his head, he kissed Kimberly's crown. "Always, and I'm counting on it."

"Arglwydd Zedd, how come you never showed that kind of patience with me?" Zira asked.

The trio sat down at a rectangular table that was sized perfectly for an intimate dinner setting.

"Because you are fy chwaer," Zedd bluntly answered.

"Wait, what?" Kimberly automatically looked at Zira, the warlord's sister or 'chwaer' as it was spoken in Nogardian. "But you said -"

"I know what I said," Zira firmly interrupted. "And I did not lie to you, Kimberly, nor would I ever. Arglwydd Zedd and I are both siblings and former mêts, though obviously never bonded."

"Well, that's not unusual, even in Earth's history," Kimberly calmly told her.

Zira nodded. "That's why I like you, Kimberly. You're sensible."

"Well, getting upset over something that happened years ago would be pretty pointless." She smirked. "I'm not quite that petty."

" _Centuries_ ago," Zedd firmly corrected, "and in the time in which I've known you, cariad, you have yet to act petty. In fact, I find your selflessness the most annoying yet honorable attribute about you."

"Coming from you, that is quite the compliment," Kimberly kindly said.

The trio fell into amicable silence while they passed food around and started to eat. Kimberly had no idea what she was putting into her mouth, but everything she tried tasted delicious. She did not hesitate to tell Zira so.

"Diolch, Kimberly. I'm glad you're enjoying it."

"Not only the bwyd, but the company as well." She turned to Zedd, who held her gaze with his green-yellow eyes. The more she saw beyond his villainy, the more she realized what a complex being he really was. "You confuse me, Zedd," she openly confessed.

"Dda," he simply replied.

When everyone finished eating, he rose from his chair. "I have some business to attend to before I can rest," he stated, looking at Kimberly, "but I will be back tonight, just as I promised."

"I'll be here," she assured him.

Zira also stood up and again bowed low at the waist. "Diwrnod dda, fy arglwydd."

"Diwrnod dda, Zira," Zedd replied. Then, grabbed his staff and promptly disappeared from the house.

Zira just shook her head as she started clearing the table. Kimberly decided to help her.

"I don't know how you did it, Kimberly, but I've never seen fy brawd so content with any of his former mêts," Zira stated, and the brunette heard the Nogardian term 'fy brawd' as 'my brother'. "If I had, at least one of them would, most likely, still be alive."

"I swear I haven't done anything special," the teenager said. "I don't know any swynion or magic -"

Zira laughed. "Of course you don't; yet, even if you did, I know you wouldn't have acted in such a way. You're too good, Kimberly. It radiates from you like a beacon of light in the dark. Maybe that's why Arglwydd Zedd is so attracted to you. He needs more light in his life."

"He has you," Kimberly stated. "I mean, you're beautiful, intelligent, and not nearly as dark as he."

"And I'm also his chwaer," Zira humorously reminded her. "Ydw, we had fun together, but that was just a temporary arrangement. We were young and curious and sexually attracted to one another. At the time, it just felt natural to share a bed. We both understood that it wouldn't last."

"So who moved on first?" inquired Kimberly. "If you don't mind me asking."

Zira offered her a tender smile. " _I_ did. Tywysog Calum was his name. And he was charming. Too charming. Arglwydd Zedd hated him from the start. He warned me against getting involved with Calum; however, I was young and still very naïve to the ways of males. Besides, who listens to their younger brawd's advice, especially when they're in love?"

"At first, Calum was fine. He often treated me to fancy dinners and took me to dances." Zira's expression suddenly darkened. "Then, one night, he took me to his bed, and his charming façade turned into my worst nightmare. Arglwydd Zedd had always been gentle with me, even in our most passionate moments. Calum was anything but. He was wicked, and he hurt me badly.

"I was terrified of him, so when he asked me to bond with him, I agreed out of fear, not love. For a long time, I hid my pain from fy brawd, but he is not a fool, Kimberly. He has eyes, and he knows me better than anyone, so eventually he caught on to what was happening, and he was furious. Calum barely escaped with his life. The last we heard, he fled to the far reaches of the universe. Arglwydd Zedd has yet to find him. But once he does ..." Zira shuddered. "I know fy brawd will kill him - or he will die trying."

Kimberly pursed her lips together. "Maybe Calum will be wise enough to say away."

Zira sighed softly. "If only that were true. Arglwydd Zedd suspects Calum is building an army to attack Nogard. It's only a matter of time before he comes back for me."

Kimberly's heart went out to the Norgardian. "He's the one to whom you still are bonded," she presumed.

"Ydw. Years after Calum, I met another male of non-noble blood, and we fell in love. Arglwydd Zedd knew of him, but he kept our bonding a secret. Being that I was already bonded, I could have been killed by the Brenin for seeking bonding with another. But fy brawd knew my heart. He trusts me as I trust him."

Kimberly nodded. "So what happened?"

"After nearly a century, the Brenin finally discovered our secret. Despite Arglwydd Zedd's pleas, the Brenin forced me to break my bond with fy mêt."

The teenager's eyes widened upon hearing about the King's cruelty. "The Brenin made you kill your mêt?" she gasped.

Zira's blue eyes welled up with tears but did not let them fall. "Ydw. It was horrible. I never forgave the Brenin. And neither did Arglwydd Zedd. That was when he started becoming obsessed with dark magic. His goal was to destroy the Brenin and thereby take his place on the throne."

"Clearly Zedd succeeded," Kimberly said.

"Ydw, but at a price. The darkness of the magic consumed fy brawd, creating the being that he is now. I thought I had lost him completely; however, you have given me hope, Kimberly. The more time he spends with you, the more I see of his old self. I pray you make your stay on Nogard a permanent one."

Kimberly didn't know what else to say besides, "Zira, you've given me a lot to process. I just need some time to think."

"Ydw, of course. Oftentimes when my mind is full, I enjoy a leisurely stroll. I daresay a bit of fresh air will do you some good. Stay here. I will return shortly."

Zira left Kimberly standing alone in the kitchen. While she waited, the teenager took a moment to admire a piece of abstract artwork hanging on the wall. She wasn't sure what the subject of the painting was supposed to be, but the way the vibrant colors, shades of red from scarlet to maroon, metallic silver, violet, and green, swirled and mixed together was almost hypnotic.

"That was done by a local artist."

The teenager jumped slightly at the sound of Zira's voice. The Norgardian chuckled softly.

"Ymddiheuraf, I didn't mean to startle you, Kimberly. Beautiful, though, isn't it? Arglwydd Zedd doesn't especially care for it, but his taste in art has changed over the years since I was compelled by the late Brenin to kill fy mêt, as well as so much else about him." Zira sighed softly but then her melancholy faded as she held out a garment for Kimberly to see. It mostly resembled a folded pile of silver and red metal mosquito netting.

All at once, the Nogardian woman let the material fall through her fingers until it was revealed to be a hooded cloak - but what a cloak! The netting appeared to be woven from some sort of red metal intertwined with silver that glimmered when the light struck it, the individual threads so delicate and lightweight that it flowed liquidly to the floor like an only slightly-heavier version of the fine tulle used in wedding veils. Silver and black discs ranging in size from no bigger than the nail of a pinkie toe to the size of a quarter adorned the cloak in patterns Kimberly thought resembled nothing more than a belly dancer's costume.

"This is for you," Zira told her, offering the beautiful, delicate-appearing garment to the teenager. "It will protect you from our sun's heat."

After Kimberly carefully accepted the fragile-looking garment, which was even more lightweight than it appeared, Zira pulled out a pair of full-length opera gloves and a rectangular piece of fabric that appeared to be constructed from the same metallic mesh material as the cloak. However, these were predominantly made of the silver metal, interwoven with the red in an intricate design unlike anything Kimberly had seen on Earth.

She ran her fingers over the metal mesh, marvelling over how the cool material flowed like a nearly-weightless liquid between them, and once she finished her examination of the garment, Zira took it from her hands and draped it over her shoulders. The cloak came down to the brunette's ankles, where the small, alternating silver and black discs affixed to the bottom jingled so quietly it was barely audible as she twisted and bent to examine how it felt to wear the strange, beautiful creation.

When she finally straightened, Zira connected the rectangular piece of fabric to each side of the cloak's hood so that it extended the width of Kimberly's face, effectively covering the area between the bridge of her nose to the bottom of her chin, leaving only her brown eyes exposed.

"The discs are more than simple decoration," Zira explained. "They are meant to reflect the sunlight and redistribute the heat over and away from the cloak to prevent your skin from burning. Alone, the dress itself will not be enough to protect you until the sun sets below the horizon, which will be in a few hours, making it necessary for you to wear the cloak, as well, when going outside."

Kimberly slipped her petite hands into the shoulder-length gloves. "I plan to be back by sunset," she said. "I'd rather not be out after dark."

Zira nodded. "That is wise. Dreigiau hunt at night, and they will not hesitate to eat you since you are an outsider."

"That's very good to know," the brunette replied, grateful for the warning of vicious dragons as the Nogardian woman walked beside her to the front door.

"Stay safe, Kimberly," Zira said. "See you tonight."

Kimberly stepped out of the front door and straight into Nogard's scorching heat, a sensation similar to walking into a dry sauna. Thank goodness her body was shielded from it, and the veil across her face cooled the air before she inhaled it, saving her from receiving any internal burns. Fortunately, Zedd had possessed the foresight to realize that she wouldn't want to stay cooped up in Zira's house for the entirety of her visit, however long that might be. Sooner rather than later, though, she was going to have to surrender the Pink Power Coin, whether she obtained her partner's approval or not. It was starting to feel like a burden, especially after seeing her friends and fellow Power Rangers hanging out with her apparent replacement, Kat, at the lake, and she suddenly realized that she was looking forward to getting out from under that weight.

At least Zedd's presence on Nogard meant that Earth would be spared from his attacks while she was there with him. She was tired of fighting his monsters which always appeared at the most inconvenient times. She had almost missed an important gymnastics meet last Fall due to one called Cheese Brain, created from a discarded piece of cheese Adam Park, the Black Ranger, had tossed into a trash can after eating lunch in the park with the other Rangers.

Luckily, the monster's mental capacity had matched its name. Still, if Kimberly had missed the meet and performing in front of all the scouts that had been there, she might never have been offered the full-ride scholarship to the University of Michigan. Or maybe that's what Zedd had been hoping. Did he not want her to go off to college? If not, what _did_ he want?

_You._

Kimberly knew that this was true, but she could still be his mêt, a college student, and possibly the Purple Ranger, too. After all, she had balanced being Tommy's girlfriend, a high school student, and the Pink Ranger pretty damn well - until her priorities had started to shift, that is. And that was only because of Goldar's ridiculous love spell.

Or _was_ the spell ridiculous? Even if her relationship with Tommy was predestined to end, she would have dated guys in college - human guys - not a man from Nogard who had been her enemy ever since his arrival on Earth's moon. Zedd wanted her, but even if he _had_ tried courting her, she never would have considered him as a potential lover. Ever. So, from his perspective, putting a love spell on her had been the only alternative. _Damn._

So lost in her thoughts, Kimberly hadn't realized she had wandered to the outskirts of the small village that she had seen earlier upon arriving on Nogard. Some stone houses, or as Nogardians called them tai, protruded from the rocky terrain surrounding her. They were few and far between; however, she presently found herself standing fairly near to one. Upon closer inspection, a family of three - a man who only wore a mint green codpiece, a woman who wore a lavender metal bikini the top and bottom of which were separated by a round belly, and a young man wearing nothing but a burnt-orange codpiece who was nearly a foot shorter than those she assumed were his parents - appeared to be adding an addition onto their house.

The woman with midnight blue hair and yellow-orange eyes bent to put a large stone in place, but once she had set it down, she laboriously straightened back upright, rubbing her lower back. When she reached for another stone block, Kimberly hurried over to her.

"Hey, I don't mean to intrude, but may I help you with that?"

All three Nogardians stopped in mid- action to stare at her. For a moment, Kimberly had forgotten that on this planet, _she_ was the alien, so of course they would gawk. _Had they ever even seen a human before_ , she wondered. She offered the woman a warm, friendly smile which she hoped reached her eyes since her mouth was obscured by the veil's protective silvery mesh. She wanted to earn the Nogardian's trust.

"I'd like to help," the teenager insisted.

The man's blue-violet eyes scrutinized her. "You're too small," he snapped.

Feeling a bit insulted, Kimberly indignantly jutted out her chin. "I'm stronger than I look."

As his gaze traveled down to Zedd's ring, the man smirked. "So it would seem." His eyes locked back onto Kimberly's. "If you want to help, then I won't stop you." He moved away from her to continue working.

Grinning, the brunette turned to the pregnant woman. "I'm Kimberly."

"I am Sirona. My husband is called Baryk, and our son..." the woman gestured to the young man, "is Ankou."

"It's nice to meet you all," Kimberly sincerely said. She picked up a golden-pink, carved piece of rock, which was much heavier than it looked, and carried it to the wall that was in the process of being built. "So, when is your baby due?"

Sirona gingerly sat down on top of a large boulder, her hands once again finding her lower back. "Not for another four months. It's funny, though, I don't remember being in this much discomfort with Ankou."

"Maybe you're overdoing it a bit," Kimberly kindly suggested.

"That's what I keep trying to tell her," Baryk said, "but she refuses to listen. This entire pregnancy has been rough on her. Normally, I would have hired someone to help with this project, but funds are extremely tight right now."

Kimberly compassionately nodded. "I understand, but hey, I'm willing to help out anytime you need it ... and I'm free."

Baryk chuckled darkly. "Not entirely, though, are you? You belong to Arglwydd Zedd."

"I do not belong to _anyone_ ," Kimberly tersely corrected.

"You wear his modrwy," the man disputed.

"Ydw, but I'm not his prisoner. I can leave Nogard any time I want." Which was the absolute truth since Zedd had not confiscated the Ranger's communicator.

Baryk gave her a long look. "It's his wish to bond with you, then?"

Shrugging, Kimberly replied, "I really don't know what his intentions are."

"But you _are_ his mêt."

"Ydw, but that's a rather new development."

"Arglwydd Zedd has never before taken an outsider as a mêt," Sirona informed the teenager. "You must be quite special." Kimberly blushed at the compliment.

"Well, she _is_ strong, I'll give her that," Baryk said. "Nawr, come along, Meistres," he added, speaking directly to Kimberly. "I'd like to get this wall halfway-built before sunset."

It was an arduous chore but not one that Kimberly minded doing. Ankou kept darting fleeting glances at her as she worked moving stones and giving them to Baryk so that he could set them properly on the wall. Although Ankou was over twenty years old, she discovered that he was still considered an adolescent in Nogardian culture.

Through Baryk, Kimberly learned that it took approximately forty years for a Nogardian male to fully develop into an adult and nearly forty-five for a female. However, according to Nogard custom, a child was not considered a legal adult until his or her fiftieth birthday since it was possible for a Norgardian's life to span several millennia, like Zedd's.

While working alongside the family, she found out Baryk was a hunter who sold different types of hides for a living, while Sirona was a professional artist who'd had to stop painting full-time due to her delicate condition. Because of that, Baryk was now the sole provider for his family until after the baby arrived. Then, Ankou could help watch the baby while Siona painted.

"That sounds like a good plan," Kimberly told Baryk while Sirona handed her a tall glass of what she recognized to be Draigwaed.

"You've been working hard," Sirona said. "Take a break for a few minutes. Please."

Not wanting to be rude, Kimberly took the glass. "Diolch, but I'm feeling good - _really_ good, actually."

Ankou's blue-orange eyes regarded her with a certain amount of respect. "You have surprisingly strong stamina for one so small."

Kimberly smirked at the young man. "I told you I could handle lifting a few rocks."

"If by 'a few' you mean over fifty…"

She looked over at the wall, which was over half-way completed. "We did well, didn't we?"

"Well enough to call it a night, I daresay," Baryk said.

Because the amber sun sat low and full in the scarlet sky on its approach to the horizon, Kimberly felt it was safe to unhook her veil on one side so that she could drink the Draigwaed. She was still able to feel the heat of the sun's powerful rays on her face, but it didn't scorch her skin like she was certain it would have earlier.

"Your homeworld must be quite warm for this heat not to bother you," Sirona noted.

"Parts of it can be extremely hot, while others, like the poles, can be unbearably cold," Kimberly explained. "Where I'm from, the temperature varies between the two extremes. But, yeah, during the summer months, it can get quite hot."

"Nogard's poles are also very cold," said Baryk. "However, the majority of the planet is extremely hot until the sun sets. Then, the temperatures drop significantly."

"I was told that dreigiau come out at night," Kimberly said.

"Ydw, they bathe in the sun all day storing heat within their bodies and then come out at night to feed. They're beautiful creatures but they can be deadly, if one isn't careful."

"Which means I should get going," Kimberly stated, not wanting to become an easy evening meal for the dragons. "Diolch for the Draigwaed," she graciously added while giving her empty glass to Sirona.

"It is I who should be thanking you, Meistres," the Nogardian woman replied. "Your help is very much appreciated."

"Croeso," Kimberly said, surprised by how the Norgardian word for 'you're welcome' sounded upon her tongue. "I'd love to come back to help again. Maybe tomorrow, as long as I'm not busy? I'm not sure of Arglwydd Zedd's plans - "

All three pairs of eyes stared unblinkingly at Kimberly, or rather just past her, and she abruptly fell silent. She turned, her brown own eyes widening at the magnificent sight of the Nogardian warlord striding towards them with his staff in hand and his unique, violet cape billowing behind him. Power and virility emanated from him, speaking directly to her libido, and her heart seized in her chest.

As Lord Zedd approached, the family collectively bowed low at the waist just as Zira had done when greeting him. Kimberly refused to bow to her sworn enemy, so she offered him a polite half-curtsy instead. Although he was wearing his mask, she could feel his green-yellow eyes boring into her. However, before she could decipher his mood, Baryk spoke.

"Fy arglwydd, to what do we owe this honor?"

"It seems you have stolen fy mêt this evening, and I've come to retrieve her before the sun completely sets." Surprisingly, Zedd's light tone did not match his stiff posture, which put Kimberly and the others slightly more at ease.

"Ydw, of course, fy arglwydd," Sirona replied. "Your mêt was just helping us build the addition onto our tŷ."

"I volunteered," the brunette quickly added, not wanting the warlord to think she had been forced into servitude.

He grasped her hand, lacing his fingers with hers, and bent to kiss her crown. "Of course you did."

Zedd's public display of affection toward her genuinely stunned Kimberly. "You're not angry, then?" she asked.

"It's hard to be angry when you were simply acting on your natural instincts, Kimberly. Helping people is in your blood. I've come to expect that from you."

"Well, in that case, I'd like your blessing to return tomorrow."

Zedd's fingers tightened around hers. "You have it," he gruffly replied. "Nawr, say 'nos da', Kimberly. It's time to leave."

Beaming, the brunette turned to her new friends, who didn't seem to know what to think of their leader's cordial demeanor. Baryk, especially, appeared almost suspicious - like granting her permission to return was some type of manipulative ploy.

 _Was it all just a ploy?_ the teenager wondered. Her smile faltered, but Sirona stepped forward, saving the younger from further forming her own suspicions about the warlord's undisclosed motives.

"Kimberly, diolch for all your help this evening. Baryk, Ankou, and I will be very pleased to see you again tomorrow."

"Ydw, I'm looking forward to it," the human girl truthfully said. "Nos da, pawb," she added, wishing everyone a good night.

As Zedd guided Kimberly away from Baryk and his family, he asked, "I assume you had a good time, seeing that you want to return tomorrow."

The brunette's expression instantly brightened. "Oh ydw, very much so. They're so interesting and nice! Baryk is a hunter. Is he the one who killed whatever animal from which your cloak is made?"

"It's draig skin, Kimberly," Zedd said, almost impatiently, "and there are a lot of hunters on Nogard. Who's to say which one killed the beast."

His reply piqued the teenager's curiosity. "I see, so killing dreigiau is a common occurrence around here?" she asked.

"Common enough," Zedd growled.

"Zira hunts."

"For bwyd. That's different."

Kimberly pondered Zedd's words for a long moment. "I'd like to go with her some time."

"Na," the Nogardian snapped, causing her brows to instantly furrow.

"Why not?"

"Because it's too dangerous. You could get killed."

Kimberly scoffed. "I'm a Ceidwad Pŵer

* * *

, Zedd, who you yourself have tried to kill countless times."

"The circumstances are different now," he insisted.

"Why? Because now I'm your mêt?"

Zedd gave his head a sharp nod. "Precisely." His visor shone down at her in the waning sunlight. The evening shadows dancing on its smooth, red surface made it appear more menacing that usual. "I _will_ protect what is mine, Kimberly. You can be certain of that."

"But I can take care of myself, Zedd," Kimberly disputed, "and I think I'd really enjoy hunting with Zira."

He released an exasperated breath. "Has she even asked you to join her on a hunt, yet?"

Kimberly shook her head. "Na."

"Well, if she ever does, I'll consider allowing you to go with her."

It was then that the teenager knew the chances of Zira asking her were slim to none, but she still remained gracious about her mêt's promise to at least think about her request. "Diolch, Zedd."

He pulled Kimberly closer to him, releasing her hand so that he could drape an arm over her shoulders instead. The touch of his muscular flesh through the netted, translucent weave of her cloak caused her to shiver.

"Cold?" he mildly asked.

Kimberly slipped an arm around Zedd's waist and rested her temple against his side. "Na, not cold," she replied, trying to resist the urge to kiss the warm, maroon flesh beneath her cheek, but the temptation proved too great. The moment her lips touched the area of pectoral muscle between his silver clavicle and the first rib of his metal chest plate, he groaned.

"Kimberly …"

She glanced up at him through her lashes. "I want to kiss you _everywhere_ , Zedd."

They were suddenly immersed in a red glow. When it faded, they were standing in Kimberly's chamber next to the bed.

"You're fortunate I didn't bring you here sooner," Zedd said, his voice gruff with desire as he propped his staff against the wall.

Kimberly blushed, now understanding the reason behind his curt behavior towards her earlier. Knowing sex was imminent, she shrugged off her cloak and draped it over the back of a nearby wooden chair. She then peeled her long, mesh gloves down each arm, laying them on top of the cloak. "You wanted to, though."

He nodded while unfastening his mask. "Ydw, but I would have hurt you."

"Zedd -"

His green-yellow eyes flashed at her. "Trust me, Kimberly. I would have."

An involuntary shiver ran down her spine. "And nawr?"

Zedd set his mask down on a small table. Kimberly began sliding the straps of the gown down her shoulders, but he reached out to stop her, resting a firm hand upon her arm. "Keep it on," he growled. Then, he stretched out upon the icy-blue duvet covering the bed's firm mattress. When she looked more closely, Kimberly could see a subtle pattern of ivory draig scales outlined upon the silken fabric.

"You said you wanted to kiss me everywhere … " Zedd reminded her in a low, seductive voice full of dark promises that sent a pulse of raw desire straight to her cunt - yet Kimberly still hesitated.

"Yeah, but I have never done anything like this before, and you're - "

"Ready for you," Zedd huskily interrupted. He extended his hand to Kimberly. When she accepted it, he was gentle when firmly tugging her with undeniable authority to his bedside and coaxing her to climb on top of him. Just like the first time she had been intimate with him, she was shaking like a leaf caught in a strong wind.

"Kimberly, don't be scared," Zedd murmured, repeating the words he had spoken just before their first time together.

"I'm not sc-"

"Ydw, you are," he sharply interjected.

Kimberly stared down at Zedd, not even bothering to argue the point, because he was right. She wasn't just scared though - she was _mortified._ He was _Lord_ Zedd, ruler of Nogard. Granted, she was a Power Ranger, but without the Power Coin, she was just a human teenager, and a very ordinary one at that, which she suspected was the _real_ reason why he wished her to become the Purple Ranger. Someone of his standing deserved to have a powerful woman at his side. And if she refused the purple Power Coin, then what? Would he still be happy with her? _Probably not._

With a sudden flick of his wrist, Zedd snapped the Pink Ranger's communicator directly into his hand. "Kimberly, give me your Morpher," he curtly demanded.

Startled both by her mêt's bold action and sharp command, the teenager blinked at him. "What? Why?"

"Because I am a man wanting to be with his woman, and you are overcomplicating things in that sweet little head of yours. Now, hand over your Morpher."

Kimberly shook her head. "Na, you can have my communicator, but I'm _not_ giving you my Morpher, Zedd. If you want it, then you'll have to take it."

Instead of reaching towards her waistband like she had been expecting, the Nogardian set her communicator down next to his mask on the nightstand. That he had not taken her Power Morpher when he very easily could have made Kimberly's heart soar. Once he settled back onto the mattress, she leaned over her mêt and planted her lips on his mouth. His hands slid over her back before coming to rest on her hips.

Meanwhile, Kimberly moved her lips down to his jawline. Zedd's green-yellow eyes followed her as she trailed open-mouthed kisses from his jawline to his chin, down his neck, and to his clavicle. Her right hand rubbed his left thigh, exploring its curves and dips while her tongue traced gentle circles on his chest and abdomen.

Zedd dropped a hand to Kimberly's thigh, dipping it underneath the deep slits in her translucent skirt. She tried to squirm away from his touch, but his other hand kept a firm hold on her hip, making it impossible to move. When he wiggled two fingers and his thumb underneath the leghole of her pink, charmeuse panty, the brunette squealed and raised her head.

"Hey, stop that," she scolded. "You're not playing fair, Zedd."

"I didn't realize there were set rules to this game," he countered, "but even so, abiding by rules has never been a forté of mine, cariad, as you should well know by now." The warlord slowly slipped his fingers inside of Kimberly and gently explored her wet folds while his thumb teased her taut clit. It definitely made unfastening his codpiece more challenging, but after a minute of fumbling with its clasps, it finally opened.

Once Zedd's cock sprang out, the teenager grasped it in her hand. Being that this was the first opportunity she'd had to touch it, she slid her hand up and down its long length, surprised by the amount of lavender precum that coated her fingers. _Lavender?_ _Huh. Interesting. Did all Nogardians have pale purple cum or just him?_ She would have to ask Zira, because she sure as hell wasn't going to ask her mêt.

As Kimberly bent her head to lick the lavender cum, Zedd's fingers, which were deep inside of her, stilled. She cautiously stuck out her tongue to sample a taste of the lavender secretions that had oozed out of his cock's thick head. The flavor of it was nothing like how she had imagined cum might taste, the slightly sticky fluid clinging to her tongue almost sweet like old-fashioned violet candies but with a hint of salt. She liked it, so she dipped her head to take another lick. When he inhaled a sharp, uneven breath, she moved to raise her head, thinking she had somehow hurt him, but the hand that was firmly gripping her hip instantly flew to her crown to keep her face in place. He tenderly stroked her hair, calming her frazzled nerves.

Kimberly knew her inexperience with men was starting to show. She wished she had been able to do these things with Tommy first so that Zedd wouldn't have to suffer through her learning curves. Right now, she was simply content using her hands and mouth to explore the different veins and ridges of his cock, to become familiarized with its texture, aroma, and taste, thereby learning more about the being to which it was attached.

Kimberly wanted to please the warlord sexually, but other than his fingers steadily combing through her hair, he remained utterly lifeless beneath her. Was he expecting more from her than she was currently giving him? She suspected his past mêts probably had a lot more knowledge about how to please a man upon entering his bed than she clearly did. She wanted to be satisfying to him in that regard, but it seemed her oral technique was far from adequate. His cock was hard and twitching from her ministrations, but the rest of his body was still just lying motionless on the bed with its eyes closed. Not even the two fingers inside of her had resumed their tender strokes. Maybe if she opened her mouth and slowly drew Zedd's long shaft into it starting with its thick, mushroom-shaped head ...

His green-yellow eyes snapped open, and the pair of fingers within her curled, making Kimberly shriek in surprise. He gathered her hair into a ponytail and held it loosely in his hand. His intent was clearly to keep her hair away from her face while she pleasured him, not to dictate the pace at which she did so. The fingers inside of her hot, wet cunt did that. She couldn't stop her head from bobbing to their rhythm as they steadily slid in and out of her.

"Kimberly … " Zedd groaned. "Fuuuck … "

Encouraged by his wanton response, the brunette opened her throat to accept his cock. She didn't possess much of a gag reflex, so her throat was able to take in about half his length before her eyes started to water. Kimberly pulled back a little to make it more comfortable for her as she twirled her tongue around her mêt's girth, wincing when his hand tightened its hold on her hair, pulling it painfully away from her scalp. His cock suddenly spasmed hard, squirting its warm, tasty seed down straight down her throat, directly into the pit of her stomach.

"Fuuuck … " Zedd grunted, again.

After all his seed had been spilt, Kimberly released his cock from her mouth. His fingers, however, continued to fuck her hard and deep, ensuring that she would reach her own pinnacle of pleasure. "Zedd!" she screamed as he forced her over the edge where she landed in a vast pool of enraptured ecstasy. Her head dropped heavily onto the Nogardian's abdomen. He gently pulled her limp form up the length of his body until her face hovered just above his, at which point he lifted his head up off the bed to press his teeth lightly against her mouth. Immediately, the teenager's lips parted, and his forked tongue slithered into her mouth to taste his own secretions. He then adroitly flipped their positions so she lay upon her back and his large body loomed over her.

"Kimberly, I want you," the warlord announced, his voice rough with passion.

Barely finding the strength to nod, she said, "I am yours, Zedd."

Kimberly made him do most work this time, but only because her limbs felt like dead weights. As Zedd tugged her panties down her still trembling legs, he smirked at her. "And you call yourself a Power Ranger."

"Hey, even superheroes need their rest," Kimberly said in her defense. "And I've had a busy day today. The stones I helped move were not exactly light."

Zedd ran his hands back up the brunette's firm legs, gently massaging her sore muscles along the way. "It's your own damn fault," he lightly reprehended. "You're too sweet for your own good, Kimberly."

"I seriously don't mind helping, though," she assured him. "Sirona really shouldn't be lifting anything heavy in her condition."

"Mm-hmm," the Nogardian agreed while leaning down to nip Kimberly's left inner thigh. She jumped at the contact.

"Zedd, what are you doing?" she demanded.

Chuckling low in his throat, he moved his face closer to Kimberly's tingling cunt. "What does it look like I'm doing?"

The warlord's warm breath tickled her very sensitive skin, making her squirm.

"Tit for tat, cariad," he continued. "You tasted my cum; now I get to taste yours ..."

Kimberly squealed when her mêt's pointed teeth grazed her slit and the little bundle of nerves hidden without its creamy folds. She tried to scoot away from his sharp incisors, but he pinned her thighs securely to the mattress, preventing any escape.

"Keep still, Kimberly, or I _will_ hurt you."

She involuntarily shuddered, but the teenager took Zedd's stern warning to heart because, with his teeth so close to her clit, she didn't dare do otherwise.

Using extreme caution, the Norgardian nibbled Kimberly's clit. Her pelvis instinctively wanted to rock with his movements, but instead she mewled and tightly gripped his shoulders as she was forced to absorb the intense orgasm that was building up within her. When the wave of ultimate passion finally crashed down around the Ranger, Zedd abandoned her clit, knowing she didn't possess the self-control to ride it out without writhing beneath him.

Before the wave receded completely, the warlord's long, forked tongue delved into Kimberly's quivering cunt. Tears stung her eyes as his tongue's bumpy, pebbly tip flicked in and out of his mouth as he lapped up her feminine juices, which only created more. She thrashed her head back and forth on the ivory, icy-blue draig scale-patterned pillowcase, wishing for the sweet torture to stop while simultaneously wishing it would never end. The silky duvet rustled beneath her with her every shuddering movement. "Zedd … !" she finally cried, her voice shrill with hysteria. "Please … !"

He raised his head to look at her with his cunning green-yellow eyes. "Please what, Kimberly?"

"Please fuck me," she frantically begged, her hips wiggling impatiently just above his shoulders.

"Hmm, I thought I was," Zedd coolly replied.

While shaking her head, Kimberly moved her trembling hands to cup his face. She tenderly caressed the area just below his bright, glowing eyes with the pads of her thumbs. "Not with your tongue - with _you_ , Zedd. I want _you_. Please?"

With a low, guttural growl, the Nogardian warlord rose above Kimberly, completely covering her quaking, petite body with his much larger frame as he sheathed himself inside her hot, needy cunt. Their mouths met in a deep, heavy kiss in which she was able to taste her own essence upon his slender, forked tongue. As they kissed, they moved in perfect harmony with one another, and within their rhythmic, intimate dance, they found their release together.

Afterward, Zedd cocooned Kimberly in his arms where she lay on her side, too spent to move. He nuzzled her forehead and temple tenderly with his teeth. She leaned back into him, exhaling a soft sigh of contentment while the fingers belonging to the hand trapped beneath her torso lightly kneaded her breasts. "Zedd … " she murmured into the thick darkness of the bedroom.

"Hmm?"

"You're, um, causing complications."

"Am I?" the warlord innocently asked while tweaking one of Kimberly's nipples.

"Zedd … " she complained, again.

"Ydw?"

"Will you please do something about it?" she asked, in a teasing whine. "I'd like to get at least _some_ sleep tonight."

Zedd chuckled low in his throat just above Kimberly's ear, causing her loins to tingle. "Is that so?" Then, he slipped the textured tip of his tongue into her ear.

"Oh fuck," she hissed, surprised how quickly her cunt reacted to his kiss. It _burned_ with desire.

Zedd swirled his tongue in and around the thin, sensitive shell of her ear. "Only if you want me to, cariad."

Kimberly squirmed in his embrace. "Do you always have to ask."

The Nogardian suddenly turned her in his arms so that they faced each other. "As a matter of fact, ydw." Gazing deeply into the teenager's eyes, he said, "I will never take you by force, Kimberly."

She stoically nodded. "And I appreciate that, Zedd, but with the way my body responds to you, I don't think that's going to be an issue."

His eyes remained locked on hers. "That's exactly what makes this so dangerous, and it's why I will always ask."

"I'm under a swyn, Zedd," the brunette stated frankly. "You and I both know I couldn't say 'na', even if I wanted to."

"Kimberly, I'm never going to do anything to hurt you," the warlord promised.

"Really? And how do I know that?" she countered.

"You're just going to have trust me."

The teenager fell quiet, her silence speaking for her.

"Come, cariad," Zedd urged, pulling her into him. "You said you wanted sleep." He held her gently in his arms but the tension in his muscular form told her that he was none too happy with her response - or lack thereof. He had given the Ranger a lot to ponder, but before she had the chance to sort her thoughts into any organized cohesiveness, the shadows of sleep claimed her.


	4. Nogard Day 2: Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kimberly gets introduced to Lord Zedd's life and begins to ponder about her future with him on Nogard.

**ONE DAY LATER**

**Nogard**

**Day Two**

Recalling when she visited Zedd on the moon and had awakened alone in his bed, Kimberly was not surprised to find the spot next to her empty. The discovery, however, filled her with an odd combination of both relief and disappointment. She felt relieved because she could go about her personal bathroom routine in privacy, but at the same time, she missed his company - something that up until this moment she never would have believed possible.

Rubbing the sleep from her heavy eyelids, the brunette instinctively looked over to the nightstand. Both Zedd's mask and her communicator were right where he had set them, which meant the warlord was still in the house somewhere. _Shit._ She had to get moving.

Kimberly rolled out of bed, groaning loudly when she planted her slipper-clad feet upon the thin, ice-blue and silver swirl-patterned stones that tiled the floor and bent to snatch up the lone victim of her intimate time with Zedd. The panty, however, looked no worse for wear. It even smelled fresh despite being soaked by her juices mere hours before. Curious, the teenager spit on the pink charmeuse, and within seconds the spot vanished right before her eyes. She actually laughed at Zedd's ingenuity. Of course _he_ would think of making self-cleaning panties. _Very convenient though,_ she had to admit.

Kimberly straightened to her full height and slowly trudged to the bathroom. By the time she finished using the toilet and brushing her teeth, her muscles had loosened up, making her steps to the kitchen much easier. She opened the door but stopped short the moment Zedd said, "Kimberly, watch out for the neidr."

The teenager instantly looked down at her feet where a very large boa constrictor was already sliding up her leg. "Oh!" she yelped, surprised.

"Relax, Kimberly, she won't hurt you," Zedd assured her from his seat at the table which was across from Zira. "She could sense your arrival and got excited."

Kimberly lifted a brow at him. "The _neidr_ , right?"

He chuckled. "Ydw, the neidr, cariad."

"Right, just making sure ..." Kimberly's eyes returned to boa, which was now nearing her hip. "Uh, hello." She cautiously reached out a finger to stroke the snake's large, triangular head. The reptile instantly went still, allowing the human girl to glide her hand down the smooth, brown and black patterned scales along its back.

Kimberly was so intent on the snake she almost missed the meaningful look Zedd and Zira shared between themselves. When the brunette caught her hostess's eye, Zira simply said, "I'm glad you like nadroedd, Kimberly."

"Oh, I do!" the teenager exclaimed. "Nadroedd don't bother me at all. In fact, when I was younger, I had a pet kingsnake for a while that I had caught out in a field by fy tŷ. Fy mam was terrified of it, though, and eventually told me I had to let it go."

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" Zedd drolly asked.

"I take it you don't like fy mam much?" Kimberly guessed based upon his sarcastic tone of voice.

Zedd's green-yellow eyes flashed, and he suddenly glowed red, portraying his anger at the reference to her mother. "Kimberly, you told her that you were assaulted by Tommy, and she didn't even bat an eye. Your _own_ mam. You deserve so much better than to be treated like that."

"She likes Tommy," the brunette said with a nonchalant shrug.

" _Everyone_ likes Tommy," Zedd sneered, his voice dripping with contempt. "That boy needs to be taken down a peg or two. Why Zordon ever decided to make _him_ your leader is beyond me. Now Jason …" The glow surrounding Zedd immediately faded. "Jason was a great leader - powerful, too. It's too bad he left. He kept the evil residing within Tommy at bay."

Kimberly stood very still as Zedd's snake continued to slither up her body. "Something not even I could do," she soberly said.

While keeping his eyes trained on his pet, Zedd proclaimed, "You are destined for greatness, Kimberly. I have no doubt about that."

"Nor I," Zira stated, her cobalt eyes also following the long reptile as it began wrapping its body loosely around the teenager's torso.

The weight of the snake was getting heavy, so Kimberly slowly sank to her knees, though it still insisted on exploring her body. Finally, the teenager gently handled its head, urging it down to her lap. She glanced back at Zedd who was still watching the serpent with keen interest. "Does your neidr have a name?" the brunette asked him.

"Ydw, Neidr," he stoically replied.

Kimberly couldn't hold back the snigger that escaped her lips. "Neidr, Zedd? Really?" When he smirked humorously, she teased, "Leave it to you to name your pet neidr Neidr. Just _please_ tell me you didn't name any of your sons or daughters Mab or Ferch?"

Zedd's green-yellow eyes instantly flashed at her, his expression turning serious once more. "And what makes you think I have any offspring?"

Kimberly cheeks burned hot. "Well, since you've been bonded six times before, I just assumed one of those bonds resulted in a baby or two."

Zedd's eyes narrowed as they landed upon his sister. "Zira …" he snarled.

"It's fine, Zedd, really," the teenager hastily interrupted, hoping to defuse his anger. "I'm glad I know."

He still grunted, though, in obvious displeasure. "It's different with you, Kimberly _\- you're_ different. And na, I didn't have any children with any of my former bondiomêts. Pregnancy on Nogard is deemed sacred and should only take place between bondiomêts in love. I did not love any of my past bondiomêts; therefore, I did not feel comfortable conceiving children with any of them."

Kimberly nodded, both happy and astounded that Zedd was being so candid with her. "You obviously loved Zira, though. You two didn't have any children together, despite being only mêts?"

Zira laughed while Zedd chortled deep in his throat. This time it wasn't Kimberly's cheeks that grew warm but the area between her legs. She kept herself calm and collected by petting Neidr's cool body.

"Na, although Zira was of mature age, _I_ was not.'

The brunette's eyes widened in wonderment. "Wait, you're _younger_ than Zira?"

Zedd nodded. "By twenty-six years."

Kimberly's brow furrowed. "Interesting. That will be the age difference between Ankou and his new sibling as well."

"You're very observant, Kimberly," Zedd praised. "You'll find that most Nogardian siblings are twenty-six years apart, which is because Nogardian women ovulate for only two weeks every twenty-five years, and their gestation period is thirteen months long."

"Women only are fertile once every twenty-five _years_?" Kimberly gasped, shocked.

"Ydw," Zedd confirmed. "It's how our population is controlled to compensate for our extremely long lifespans. As such, the birth of a baby is a cause for celebration"

"And do you participate in those celebrations?" Kimberly asked, genuinely curious. She couldn't picture Zedd being merry unless he conquered a world or something of the like.

"Of course," Zedd solemnly answered. "As Arglwydd and Rheolydd Nogard, it is my duty to appear at such events."

Kimberly scoffed. "Zedd, there's a difference between participating and appearing, as you well know. When was the last time you danced at a party?"

The corners of Zedd's mouth lifted in a devilish grin. "If you're looking for an excuse to dance with me, then you only have to wait five days' time."

The teenager became suspicious very quickly. "Why? What's happening in five days, Zedd?"

"I am throwing a ball to officially announce you as fy mêt. I was going to wait … " Zedd pulled a small, thin computer screen out from beneath the table and held it up so that the monitor faced the teenager, "but it appears we've already been discovered."

Kimberly's jaw dropped. On the screen was a photograph of her and Zedd together. His arm was hugging her shoulders while hers was wrapped around his waist with her lips upon his chest. The photograph had clearly been taken on their journey back to Zira's house the evening before. Typed in blaring red font beneath it was the caption: _Arglwydd Zedd's Heart Captured At Last?_

Kimberly pressed a palm to her forehead, suffering from a sudden headache at the thought having to deal with more paparazzi. "You have gohebwyr ddrwg here, too?" she groaned, a term which in English literally translated to 'evil reporters'.

"Ydw, and as you can see, they work very proficiently." Zedd set the computer screen down upon the table, his gaze fixed on her. "I apologize, cariad. I should have warned you, but please try not to fret about it. Earth is far enough away that your true identity will remain a secret for now. And all that was taken of us was this photograph. However, now that the gohebwyr ddrwg know of your existence, your life _will_ get a bit more complicated."

Kimberly's heart jumped in her chest as panic arose within her. "Does that mean I can't go back to Baryk's tŷ? Sirona needs the help, Zedd," she earnestly implored.

His expression hardened. "I will still allow you to go, on one condition, Kimberly. Goldar must go with you."

The teenager opened her mouth to protest but then quickly changed her mind, because she couldn't bear the thought of Sirona working on the addition in her stead. "All right, Zedd, I'll agree to your stipulation, but he'd better stay out of my way."

"Kimberly, his direct orders are to keep the gohebwyr ddrwg away from you. I know how much you despise the limelight." Zedd heaved a great sigh. "Unfortunately, I can't go anywhere without them trailing me. I've grown accustomed to it, but you're a lot more sensitive than I am, so I'd prefer to shield you from their scrutiny as much as possible."

"So that," Kimberly gestured to the thin screen laying on the table, "doesn't bother you at all?

Zedd cocked his head at her, appearing confused. "Why should it bother me? It's a great photo of us. I might even have it framed."

His relaxed demeanor put Kimberly more at ease.

"Nawr come, eat. You've spoiled Neidr enough for one day." He called for his snake which followed Kimberly closely on her heels on her approach to the table where Zira pointed to an unoccupied chair next to Zedd.

"You're just jealous that it wasn't _you_ who was wrapped around me," the brunette joshed. As she moved to slip past Zedd's chair, his arms shot out, catching her off guard and making her stumble sideways onto his lap. Within seconds, Kimberly was ensnared in an unyielding embrace. Her mêt dipped his face very close to hers, their mouths mere centimeters apart.

"It is unwise to challenge me, cariad," Zedd lowly cautioned, his voice rumbling deep within his throat.

Cupping his face in her hands. Kimberly muttered, "You have the sexiest voice, Zedd."

Growling, the warlord pressed his mouth to her lips, his tongue snaking out to tease hers as his hand crawled up her torso to softly knead the underside of a breast. Kimberly wiggled closer to her mêt and reached down to unlatch his codpiece when she remembered Zira sat directly across from them. The teenager tried to stop her fingers from moving, and that's when she felt it - the powerful tug on her mind, like something inside of her was urging her fingers to keep going.

 _"You want him,_ " insisted a voice inside her head.

 _"Yes, I_ do _want him, but not like this,"_ Kimberly firmly disputed _, "not with Zira present."_

_"It doesn't matter."_

_"Yes! Yes, it_ does _!"_

With a strangled cry, the teenager managed to push Zedd back just enough to catch his attention. He immediately stopped kissing and touching her. That one, tiny act of rebellion against the spell's lustful intent of seduction zapped the energy right out of Kimberly's body, and she blacked out. When her eyes fluttered open, all she saw was the silver of Zedd's chest piece. With effort, she lifted her head and found both siblings staring down at her. Zedd's expression was completely unreadable whereas Zira's was filled with awe.

"You are able to fight the swyn, Kimberly," Zira quietly voiced, lightly kissing the brunette's forehead. Then, she left her brother's side and strode from the kitchen to give the couple some much needed privacy.

Kimberly failed to understand the significance of Zira's words and showed it by deliberately shaking her head.

Zedd lightly caressed her cheek. "Which means you could have said 'na' to me at any time, had you wanted."

"But I didn't," Kimberly replied without thinking."

A shudder passed through her mêt's body as he said, "I know."

Kimberly stared at Zedd, her mind racing. If she had the ability to fight the spell all this time but hadn't felt any desire to do so, that meant her lust for him was _real_. "Oh fuck," she breathed.

Much to the teenager's chagrin, Zedd chuckled. "Well, I admit that wasn't exactly the reaction of which I hoped, but it _is_ the one I expected."

"Ymddiheuraf, Zedd," she sincerely apologized. "It's just that this is a lot to wrap my head around. I mean I'm _very_ relieved to know that I've been in control of my actions despite being under a swyn, but at the same time, this revelation utterly astounds me, I'm not going to lie."

"That, cariad, is a completely natural reaction, and I thank you for your honesty." Zedd planted a soft kiss upon the brunette's brow and then gently lifted her off his lap, setting her down on her feet next to his chair.

"I assume you have to go?" Kimberly queried, disappointed that they would be separated for the entire day, followed by the jarring realization that she was actually going to miss the evil warlord's company, though it was getting harder for her to think of him as "evil" since, on Nogard, he had yet to act any way but kind towards her. And, again, the teenager wondered if he had an ulterior motive for doing so, besides trying to seduce her to become the Purple Ranger. Zedd was cunning, she knew, so she didn't dare let her guard down fully whilst in his presence.

"And there it is," he sneered, disrupting Kimberly from her thoughts.

"What?" she asked, very bewildered by his bitter tone. "I didn't say anything."

"You didn't have to, Kimberly. The expression on that pretty little face of yours says it all." Zedd then rose from the chair and called, "Zira, I am leaving!"

The Nogardian woman bustled back into the kitchen carrying her brother's mask and violet, dragon-skin cape. Her own regal cape flowed behind her in a cascade of cobalt-blue dupioni silk that reflected silver, serving as a sobering reminder to Kimberly that she was standing in the presence of Nogardian royalty. As usual, Zira bowed low at the waist when offering Zedd his personal apparel. "Fy arglwydd," she reverently said.

Kimberly watched Zedd take his mask from his older sibling's outstretched hands. Once he donned it, Zira unfurled his cape and moved to attach it to the silver metal adornments behind each of his shoulders that replicated the human spine of scapula. The teenager remembered the term from Biology class where her knowledge of the human back had been thoroughly tested. "Wait, Zira, allow me," she commanded, wishing to perform the task herself.

The Nogardian woman instantly looked to Zedd for direction. When he gave her a sharp nod of approval, Zira passed the cape to Kimberly, who promptly fastened it in place. Zedd remained still and patient as she slid her hands down the textured hide to smooth it out. After she finished, she stepped back, letting him pick up Neidr before he dissolved within a bright red bolt of lightning.

"He's angry," Kimberly dully stated when her mêt vanished.

Zira laid a comforting hand on the brunette's shoulder. "Na, Arglwydd Zedd is not angry, Kimberly, just irritated. He knows that you're trying, but building trust takes time, especially given your violent history with each other. And you've only been here one day."

"But what if it never happens?" Kimberly miserably asked. "What if I can't ever learn to trust Zedd? What kind of mêt will I be to him, then?"

Zira removed her hand and implored, "So, what, you're just going to give up and deem him a lost cause?"

"Na, of course not!" the brunette insisted, her voice increasing in volume with her own mounting frustration. "I like him too much to do that!" As soon as those words left her lips, Kimberly gasped, her hand flying to cover her mouth _,_ her brown eyes wide. _Oh my god, I like Lord Zedd_! The epiphany nearly knocked her right off her feet. Thankfully, Zira grabbed a chair and slid it underneath the teenager before she could collapse in shock.

"Kimberly, there's no shame in liking fy brawd," Zira reprimanded, clearly hurt. "In fact, I wish more people did. Maybe then the darkness within him would start to dissipate."

"Do you really think it would?" the teenager asked, trying not to sound skeptical but after experiencing how much effort it took to fight off just one spell, she found it hard to believe that the dark magic residing inside of Zedd would ever break.

"I don't know. He's never allowed anybody get that close to him to find out - until you, Kimberly. He's even pushed _me_ away to a certain extent, but I still adore him. He is what he is because of me and the poor decisions I made." Zira wiped a tear from her eye. "I never should have bonded with Calum and my second mêt, Goch. Arglwydd Zedd paid the price for my mistakes tenfold. I owe him my life."

Rendered speechless, Kimberly simply stood up and silently embraced her new friend. The brunette couldn't very well promise Zira that she would help cure Zedd when she didn't know if that was even a realistic possibility. However, the Nogardian didn't seem to mind the wordless hug. Zira laid her cheek on top of the younger's head and then gently kissed it.

"You should eat, Kimberly," Zira said. "You need to keep up your strength if you're planning to work most of the day."

The teenager flipped her chair around so that it faced the table and sat back down. "I am," she confirmed as she began eating a type of animal egg. "I hope you don't mind."

"Why would I mind?" Zira countered. "I spend my days hunting. It pleases fy brawd when I serve him meat from a fresh kill. It also gives me something to do while he is busy dealing with his intergalactic affairs. I don't get involved with all the politics that come along with ruling a world, unless I must."

Kimberly scooped some more egg into her mouth and washed it down with some type of fruit juice.

"How's the mefusadd?" Zira asked. "It's my secret recipe. I know it's not Draigwaed, but what is?"

"It's still delicious," Kimberly assured her hostess. To prove her point, the younger took another sip of the sweet and tart beverage.

Zira flashed her a bright smile. "Dda, I'm glad you like it. Arglwydd Zedd prefers to drink Draigwyn, even during brecwast. How he can sip wine so early in the day is beyond me, especially fermented Draigwaed. Yuck!"

Instead following Zira's lead and laughing, Kimberly's expression darkened, along with her mood. The Nogardian fell quiet, the smile disappearing from her face. Feeling that she owed her friend an explanation, the brunette said, "The first and last time I drank Draigwyn Zedd laced it with a swyn that enabled me to speak and understand Nogardian. He also tampered with my communicator while I slept so that it would bring me here. And he wonders why I don't trust him. If he would have just told me - "

Zira chuckled humorlessly. "Kimberly, that is not who Arglwydd Zedd is, not any more. He has become quite deceitful and manipulative, but he hasn't been so relaxed and in such good spirits since before he killed the Brenin, and I believe that is your influence." Zira's cobalt eyes suddenly lit up with wonderment. "And Neidr … don't forget about Neidr. Her behavior has never been so docile with _anyone_ outside of fy brawd and me. She's quite smitten with you, and, trust me, _that_ is something not to be taken for granted. I know she doesn't look it, but Neidr can be extremely deadly if called upon or if the situation warrants it. She is very loyal to Arglwydd Zedd and will protect him at all costs. Perhaps she will extend that protection to you."

Kimberly slowly blinked at her companion. "But she's just a neidr. Isn't she?"

Smirking, Zira began clearing the table as the brunette finished her breakfast. "You should get dressed, Kimberly," the former urged. "Goldar will probably be here soon."

" _If_ Zedd still let's me go," the teenager said with a soft sigh.

"He gave you his word, wynion. He will not withdraw it."

Kimberly blushed at the endearment Zira had chosen for her. In her mind, being called 'blessed' or 'darling' was just as personal as Zedd's choice of cariad or 'my sweet'. "All right. If you're sure …"

"I am," Zira said, her tone firm and confident.

Kimberly excused herself from the table and walked back to the room which, for now, she considered as her own. She used her handprint to open the door and then wandered inside, heading straight to the ornately-carved, cobalt-blue wooden wardrobe. The brunette gradually parted its doors to see what was concealed within them and gasped. Zedd had supplied her with at least a month's worth of clothes, but to her dismay, every garment hanging from the delicate, silver hangers was a shade of pink, and even worse, they were all two-piece dresses. What the hell was Zedd been thinking - that she was just going to spend her time prancing about Nogard while Zira hunted and he fulfilled his lordly duties? _Absolutely not!_

Kimberly sifted through the hangers, just in case she had missed spotting a casual ensemble. She hadn't. That was definitely something she needed to speak to Zedd about. Also, when he had ordered Zira to choose the pink evening gown from the teenager's wardrobe, Kimberly hadn't realized that the woman's choices were limited to that specific tone of color, not that the inside of the brunette's closet at home looked any different palette-wise. She used to be enamored with pink in all its various hues, but after seeing Kat wearing it, her love for the color was fading fast.

Kimberly was tempted to accept the Purple Power Coin just for the sake of switching colors, and she couldn't help but wonder if by filling her wardrobe with only pink garments, Zedd hoped to coax a decision out of her sooner rather than later. That would be just the type of manipulative game he would play to achieve victory. And it had almost worked, too. Almost.

Sighing, the brunette thumbed through the hangers a second time. The thought crossed her mind to simply don the dress from her own wardrobe that she had worn the day prior for practicality purposes, but Zedd would probably midconstrue her decision as being a deliberate act of rebellion against him. There was enough bad blood between them already. To do something that would stir the pot even further would be plain foolhardy, and because of that, Kimberly chose to replace her taffy-pink evening gown with a more casual magenta dress. Instead of charmeuse and chiffon, its short, sleeveless top and full skirt were made out of batiste, as were its panty and shoes, though those were a muted silver to match the intricate flowers embroidered within the fabric and the skirt's plain platinum waistband that was just wide enough to conceal her Power Morpher.

For a long moment, the Pink Ranger stared at her communicator that now sat alone on the bedside table, debating what to do with the slim "watch" with its pink metal band when a soft knock sounded on the door. "Come in," she said, already knowing it was Zira before the Nogardian woman let herself into the room but stopped short when her dark eyes landed on the brunette.

"You sound just as perplexed as you look, wynion." Zira also glanced down on the communicator and gently asked, "Do you _have_ to wear it?"

Heaving a great sigh, the teenager nodded. "I should just in case I need to teleport or if Zordon should happen to need me for any reason … but there's part of me that wants to throw it against a wall to see what will happen to it." She sat down heavily on the edge of the bed and put her head in her hands. "Why does this have to be so hard?" Within seconds, Zira sat next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, holding Kimberly close.

"Because you see the light buried deep within fy brawd just as I do," the Nogardian said, "but the dark powers that swirl inside of him prevent you from fully trusting him."

Tears threatened to fall from Kimberly's eyes. "Ydw," she choked out through a constricted throat. "I never thought I'd say that about Zedd. Ever. But something keeps tugging at me, pulling me to become closer to him. I want to say it's the damn swyn serch, but - "

"But you are scared that it's not," Zira kindly finished, tenderly stroking the brunette's cheek.

Kimberly leaned her head against her companion's shoulder and nodded. "He's done some horrible things to me and fy ffrindiau," she said, "not to mention the city in which I live. How does one even start building trust after all that?"

"One block at a time," Zira suggested. "I'm not going to say it will be easy, because you and I both know that it won't be, but you are a kind and selfless person, Kimberly. If he were truly all dark, Arglwydd Zedd would not be attracted to you at all. Please have faith in that."

"He still obviously loves you, though," Kimberly pointed out.

"His love for me drove him to immerse himself in dark magic to destroy the Brenin, but since his fall into darkness, fy brawd has lost his love for me. My only saving grace is that he still respects Nogard tradition in that there is nothing more important than teulu. Otherwise, he probably would have killed me years ago."

Kimberly gazed up at Zira. "Na, I don't believe that. I think the light inside of him remembers the loving relationship you two had beforehand, and that coupled with your teulu bond is what has saved you."

Zira placed a soft kiss upon the teenagers forehead. "You are very sweet, wynion, and I hope you are right, because that would mean that the light inside of Arglwydd Zedd has been fighting to break free from the darkness longer than I thought."

"But with so little to show for it," Kimberly mournfully said.

"That's the power of the dark magic," Zira said regrettably. "It will not be easily conquered nor ever completely. No matter what happens, there will always be a residual shadow of darkness within fy brawd."

"Like Tommy," the brunette uttered.

"Ydw, like Tommy," the Nogardian confirmed, "but at least you can be assured that Arglwydd Zedd will never sexually assault you."

Kimberly smirked. "Ydw, he does make sure he behaves himself in that regard."

Nodding, Zira said, "Moreso with you than with anyone from what I've seen."

"Just because of the swyn," Kimberly firmly clarified. "He told me that himself. And now that he knows I am able to fight it, I doubt he will act so gallantly towards me."

Zira released a light sigh. "Perhaps not, but even with the evil inside of him, Arglwydd Zedd still is no Calum in the bedchamber. I promise fy brawd won't do anything that will permanently harm you, and only one of his bondiomêts ever complained of him leaving marks on her that took longer than several days to heal. Unfortunately that is what led her to request for an unbonding ritual."

Kimberly felt the color drain her face. "And Zedd accepted the request, just like that?"

Zira combed her fingers through the teenager's brown locks. "He had no choice, wynion. Nogardian law dictates that once the request is made, the bondiomêt has to honor it. I realize it sounds barbaric, but unbonding rituals have been a part of our culture long before fy brawd became rheolydd, and as I have mentioned before, they are rare."

"And yet, Zedd has been through six of them," Kimberly said, her tone sullen.

"That is what happens when lust dictates one's actions instead of love. Only one bondiomêt ever loved him, but the dark magic didn't allow him to reciprocate her feelings and he ended up hurting her because of it."

Kimberly leaned further into Zira as the latter continued to stroke her hair. "Which could happen to me."

Zira shifted back slightly and tipped the younger's chin up with an index finger so that their eyes could meet. "It already _has_ happened to you, wynion, and now it seems Arglwydd Zedd is trying to make up for some of his past transgressions." Zira caressed Kimberly's cheek with the pad of her thumb. "His feelings for you run deep, and I understand why. The light radiating from you is extremely hard to ignore - "

The Nogardian's face filled the brunette's vision as Zira leaned forward. Kimberly instinctively parted, anticipating the kiss, but at the last second, Zira's mouth changed direction and landed upon the younger's forehead instead. Then, Zira stood to her feet, looking quite flustered. "You should leave, Kimberly," she urged, her voice low and breathy. "Goldar is waiting for you."

Very relieved for the distraction, the teenager grabbed her outerwear and fled her quarters. She hurried to the main living space, stopping short when she saw Goldar's massive form standing before her. As soon his glowing red eyes met her brown ones, he bowed at the waist. "Mistress," he greeted, speaking English.

Frowning, Kimberly said, "Goldar, please, you are making this really weird."

"You are Lord Zedd's mêt, and he commanded me to treat you as such," the creature with a blue, lion-like face snarled, his sharp white teeth glinting at her.

"Fine," Kimberly replied, rather distractedly. The near kiss with Zira kept repeating itself in her mind. Over and over again, and it made her loins tingle, not dissimilar to how kissing Zedd made her feel.

"Fuck" she muttered, the heat in her body rising. She knew she must have looked very flushed.

"Mistress, are you all right?" Goldar asked, now appearing concerned. "Maybe you should put on your cloak. It's getting hot out. I can help you."

Kimberly stared at Zedd's winged evil henchman - the same which had put her under the love spell. "Diolch, but I can manage myself."

"As you wish, Mistress."

Silently grinding her teeth, the teenager quickly covered her exposed skin with the cloak, veil, and gloves. She was just about to tell Goldar that she was ready to leave when Zira strode into the room. The Nogardian woman had exchanged her cape for her spear.

"I'm going hunting," she curtly informed Kimberly. "I will see you at Swper."

"Wait, Zira" the brunette pleaded, "we need to talk."

"Hwyrach," the older clipped, meaning 'later'.

"Zira, please … "

The Nogardian cast a fleeting glance at Goldar and reiterated, "Hwy-rach." Her reaction caused Kimberly to suddenly wonder if Goldar was able to speak and comprehend Nogardian. Since he was Zedd's henchman, it would only make sense that he could, she decided.

With a heavy heart, the teenager followed Zira out of the house flanked by Goldar. The Nogardian woman started walking towards the woods just beyond her dwelling while the other two headed for the village.

"I still can't believe Zedd convinced you to come with me," the brunette told Goldar, keeping her voice low.

"He ordered, and I obeyed," the henchman simply replied.

"You're very loyal to him."

Goldar lightly shrugged. "I just want to see my lord happy."

"Which is why you put me under a love spell."

"Lord Zedd said he wanted you, and you were not coming willingly, so I felt that I had no other choice."

Kimberly opened her mouth to protest but what came out instead was just a heavy sigh. Arguing about the usage of the love spell was pointless being that there was no way to change what had been done. At least now she knew she possessed the power to fight it. That was a comfort, especially since she knew Zedd would never take her without her consent.

Goldar regarded her for a long, thoughtful moment before saying, "You will make a great queen."

Kimberly frowned as she anxiously fiddled with Zedd's family ring. "That's what Zira said, too."

"You seem doubtful."

"That's because I am. I mean, look at me, Goldar. I am a human teenage girl who possesses no knowledge about Nogard or its culture. There's no way I am suitable for such a significant role."

"Lord Zedd wouldn't have chosen you to be his mêt if he thought you were incapable of being Queen," Goldar responded, his baritone voice sounding a little less gruff than usual. "He admires your courage and tenacity. That's why he wanted you for his queen and probably why Zordon chose you to be the Pink Ranger."

"I've failed Zordon," Kimberly dolefully said. "What if I fail Zedd, too?"

"You won't," Goldar confidently said. "His Excellency will not allow it."

Kimberly was about to respond when a bright, white flash momentarily blinded her. Goldar instantly grabbed her arm in an attempt to lead her away from the small group of photographers and 'reporters' that was quickly forming around her. "Goldar, it's okay," she whispered. "I'll talk to them for a few minutes. Hiding from them is just going to make things worse."

Zedd's henchmen bowed slightly. "If that is your wish, Mistress."

Kimberly smirked and turned to face the gohebwyr ddrwg whose members wore metal codpieces and bikinis that were sepia-brown in color. _Fitting_ , she thought, suppressing a giggle.

"Monesig, over here!" a woman with red-orange hair and yellow eyes called. "Are you Arglwydd Zedd's newest mêt?"

"Ydw, and my name is Cyneberlê Hydd." Kimberly blinked, stunned by how her name sounded in Nogardian. When she had first introduced herself to Zira, she knew she had spoken her name in English. Could that be because Zira had already been familiarized with the teenager's Earth name? That was another question she would have to ask some time.

"Arglwydd Zedd appeared very comfortable with you last evening," said a man with shifty lime-green eyes, who made Kimberly's skin crawl. "Have you known each other long?"

"A couple years - _my_ world's years, not Nogardian years," Kimberly clarified.

"And from which world is that?" the same man asked.

"One that is far away from here," Kimberly said, purposely keeping her answer vague for Zedd's sake more than her own.

A woman with short violet hair and sky-blue eyes obtained the teenager's attention next. "You speak Nogardian very fluently for an outsider."

Kimberly flashed her a bright smile. "Do I? Dda. I've been practicing."

The group chuckled at her remark, save for the man with the lime-colored eyes Kimberly noticed, as did Goldar, judging by the henchman's stiff stance.

"Are you born of noble blood, and are you familiar with Nogardian culture," Woman One asked.

Kimberly deliberately shook her head. "Na, I'm afraid I was not born of noble blood," she said, drawing a chorus of surprised gasps from the gohebwyr ddrwg. Ignoring them, she continued speaking "And, ydw, I _have_ been learning about Nogardian culture, but unfortunately, I have not had time since my arrival yesterday to fully immerse myself in it."

Lime-Eyed Man stepped forward again and asked, "In your studies of Nogardian culture thus far, have you learned about unbonding rituals?"

Goldar growled and took a small step towards the man, but Kimberly extended an arm to stop the henchman. Goldar kept red eyes trained on the man as she spoke. "Ydw, I am aware of their existence."

The man offered the teenager a toothy grin that was clearly meant to intimidate. "Are you equally aware that your mêt has had six bondiomêts prior to you?"

"I am," she evenly said, "though Arglwydd Zedd failed to list them all by name."

The man's eyes narrowed. "And knowing their fates, how does it feel to potentially be Bondiomêt Number Seven?"

Kimberly returned his unfriendly glare with a light laugh, trying to combat her fraying nerves. "Actually, where I live seven is considered a lucky number, so I'm feeling pretty damn good about it. I think the real question is, how are _you_ feeling about it?"

The man sneered at Kimberly, and sensing something dark and very wrong beyond his visible disdain for her, she instinctively raised a hand to her waistband where her Power Morpher was secretly hidden.

"Arglwydd Zedd will destroy you as well, Cyneberlê Hydd," the man snarled, "and you will be _lucky_ to be remembered as anything more than Bondiomêt Number Seven."

With a low menacing growl, Goldar unsheathed his silver-bladed sword and threw it straight at the man, who vanished in a blinding flare of pale green light with a mocking laugh that seemed to echo even after he was gone just as the tip of the blade would have pierced his chest. The lion-faced being rushed to retrieve his sword before the gohebwyr ddrwg could snap photos of it lying upon the ground, dreading the mocking title of such an image of his impotence. And worse than the shame would be how his merciless master would respond to such a sight. Then, before the sepia-clad vultures could swarm Kimberly, he returned to her side.

Trying to appear unfazed despite her alarm, Kimberly turned to her winged companion, her hand falling back to her side. "Come on, Goldar," she urged, returning to her native tongue. "Let's go."

However, the blue creature clad in heavy gold armor did not budge, even as the gohebwyr ddrwg began to disperse. "I need to speak to Lord Zedd," he murmured. "Something about that man wasn't right. You felt it, too."

Kimberly reluctantly nodded. "Who do you think he is?"

Goldar shrugged. "I don't know. A spy maybe. Whoever he is, Lord Zedd needs to be informed of his presence."

"Then, you go," Kimberly agreed. "I'll finish walking to Baryk's house by myself. We're not far."

"If that man is an enemy, I cannot leave you alone, Mistress," Goldar disputed. "Lord Zedd would have my head for that, especially under these circumstances."

The teenager sighed. "Then, we are at a stalemate. What do you suggest we do?"

Goldar suddenly grabbed her around the middle. "Forgive me, Mistress, but this is for the best."

"No, Goldar, please - "

Kimberly's words died on her tongue as Goldar teleported them to a circular room that was constructed from the same dark gray granite stones of which most of the buildings in the village had been built. The multicolored veins of opalescence threaded within the stones glistened brightly in the light that shone through the room's tall, red tinted windows that were evenly spaced inside the walls. A large stone throne carved from smooth gray rock dominated the center of the room. Kimberly was expected to see her mêt seated upon it, but instead it sat empty.

"Lord Zedd must be in a meeting," Goldar said. "You stay here, Mistress. I will return shortly."

"No," Kimberly snapped, tired of being ordered around by someone she hardly considered a friend. "I'm coming with you."

Goldar immediately shook his head in protest. "You can't. It's uncustomary."

"I don't care," the teenager stubbornly proclaimed. "If Zedd doesn't want to see me right now, he can tell me himself. Now, where do you think he is?"

The blue lion-like being chuckled. "And you don't think you would make a great Queen … I beg to differ, Mistress. Lord Zedd is this way."

"Thank you." Kimberly followed Goldar down a candle lit corridor. She wished she could have paused to study the different scenes that were intricately carved into the walls, but there wasn't time for that now. The sooner they told Zedd what had happened, the sooner she would be able to help Sirona like she had promised.

Goldar stopped at a door at the end of the corridor. "This is the room in which Lord Zedd entertains guests," he stated. "He will not be pleased by the interruption, so I will go in first, Mistress. I will call for you shortly." Using his handprint, he was allowed access into the meeting room. Instead of obeying and waiting in the hallway, Kimberly slipped into the room behind the large henchmen before the door closed. Once inside, she unclipped one side of her veil and lowered the cape's hood from her head.

Zedd, who was sitting in a chair next to another Nogardian man wearing shiny copper adornments similar to those of the warlord, instantly rose to his feet, his visor fixed on the blue lion-like being. "Goldar, what is the meaning of this?" he demanded, confirming the brunette's earlier suspicion that Goldar could in fact comprehend Nogardian. "And where is Cyneberlê?"

Hearing her name spoken in Nogardian on Zedd's tongue nearly brought Kimberly to her knees, but she kept herself composed as she walked around Goldar's bulky form. "I am here, fy arglwydd, she answered, half-curtseying before her mêt like she had done previously at Baryk's house.

"Fy arglwyddes," Zedd cordially greeted, though the relief in his tone could not be missed. He took Kimberly's hand, lifted it to his silver grated mouthpiece, and pressed a polite kiss to the inside of her wrist.

"She doesn't bow to you, Zedd?" the man adorned in copper asked, coming to stand at the warlord's side.

Chuckling, Zedd lowered Kimberly's hand but kept it grasped firmly within his. "Cyneberlê will never bow to me, and I actually prefer it that way." Turning to her, he said, "Fy arglwyddes, this is Hywel, Ddugiaid Ystafell Ymolchi."

 _Hywel, Duke_ Bathroom _?_

The absurdness of the man's title caught Kimberly completely off guard. She fought hard to keep her composure, but a fit of giggles was already bubbling up from her belly to her chest. Zedd must have anticipated her reaction because his fingers promptly tightened around hers. The pain was enough to subside the laughter, but she still couldn't stop a broad smile from forming upon her lips. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ddugiaid Hywel."

The Duke gave Zedd a sharp look. "She knows Nogardian?"

"Somewhat." The warlord turned his gaze onto Kimberly while slightly loosening the grip on her hand. "In some dialects, Ystafell means pool and Ymolchi means territory," he evenly explained.

"Zedd, it's all right. Let the girl laugh," Hywel insisted, his expression softening. "It's not worth breaking her hand over. For god's sake, how many times have we laughed ourselves silly over some of the ludicrous names on Nogard like - ?"

"What was your reason for coming here," Zedd curtly interrupted, specifically addressing his loyal henchman.

The expression of humor on Kimberly's face dissipated as Goldar said, "Cyneberlê was accosted by the gohebwyr ddrwg as you predicted, fy arglwydd, but there was one man in the group who was particularly bothersome."

"He emanated evil," Kimberly bluntly informed her mêt. "It was palpable. But before either Goldar or I could physically confront him, he vanished in a flash of green light."

"What did he look like?" Zedd demanded to know.

"He looked like a normal Nogardian man," Kimberly answered, "except he had lime-green eyes that looked almost unnatural in color. I'm sure there'll be a story with photographs out soon."

Zedd haphazardly nodded in contemplative silence. "Cyneberlê, are you all right?" he inquired at last, his fingers once again clenching around hers.

Kimberly firmly bobbed her head. "Ydw, rwy'n iawn, fy arglwydd."

"Are you sure?" Zedd asked. "You're not just saying that?"

Touched by his concern for her, especially in front of his peer and subordinate, Kimberly subtly rubbed the pads of her fingers along his knuckles, her fingertips just grazing the silver plate that covered the back of his hand. "I'm fine, really, Arglwydd Zedd, but the man did mention your past bondiomêts. I tried to be as diplomatic in my answers as possible, but I will apologize beforehand if I said something that could be construed or twisted to fit the gohebwyr ddrwg's narrative."

"Cyneberlê, do not fret about that," the warlord said, bending to kiss her temple. "I trust you."

"And why wouldn't you, Zedd?" Hywel quipped. "It's rare to find a woman who will put your already tarnished reputation above her own well-being."

Kimberly couldn't help but feel insulted by the man's insinuation that her motives were anything less than pure. She truly did not want to damage her mêt's public image. She personally knew how downright cruel Earth's paparazzi could be at times. Thankfully, her mask had always protected her true identity, a luxury that had never been bestowed upon Lord Zedd.

"Hywel, Cyneberlê is as genuine and selfless as they come," he told his comrade. "When I say that I trust her, I fully mean that she has my trust."

The Duke thoughtfully regarded Kimberly for a long moment. "She's rather short."

"What she lacks in height she makes up for in other ways."

Hywel laughed, and Kimberly suspected that her face turned as red as his and Zedd's muscular bodies. "I'm sure she does."

Zedd grunted and said, "All I meant was that Cyneberlê is a gymnast and thus uses her petite stature to her advantage."

Hywel suddenly appeared intrigued. "A gymnast, huh? Do you compete professionally?"

"Na, but that had always been a dream of mine. Unfortunately, other things in my life have taken precedence over that." And she wasn't just referring to her duties as a Power Ranger either. 'Other things' included school, her parents, and her social life as well.

"Cyneberlê has a gift for putting other people before herself," Zedd said as though reading the teenager's thoughts, "even at the expense of her own happiness."

"You sound lovely," Hywel replied, offering Kimberly a toothy grin that she found more creepy than charming.

" _Fy_ arglwyddes, would you care for some Draigwyn?" Zedd asked, stressing the 'my' in the address, which made Kimberly smile. Unlike Zira, she didn't mind the taste of fermented dragon blood, so she nodded in hopes that the alcohol would help calm her already frayed nerves.

"Goldar, would you be so kind as to pour us each a glass of Draigwyn?"

"Ydw, fy arglwydd."

As Goldar ambled to the table, he caught Kimberly's eye and inconspicuously winked at her. She didn't have a clue as to what he was scheming but as long as it involved Hywel and not her, she was fine with whatever the henchman had planned.

"I seem to have struck a nerve with you, Zedd," Hywel said, "and I apologize if I overstepped my boundaries by complimenting your mêt. Would you have preferred me insulting her instead?"

Goldar returned with three goblets of Draigwyn and passed them out to each guest and the host.

"Cheers," Hywel said.

He drank his wine in four eager gulps as Kimberly sipped on hers. Zedd, meanwhile, left his Draigwyn completely untouched. After lowering the rim from her mouth, she stared into the goblet, suddenly wondering if she had reason to be concerned. The warlord closed the small gap between them, lowered his mouth to her ear, and whispered, "You are safe, cariad. I promise."

 _Not from just the Draigwyn either,_ Kimberly deduced. She turned her head slightly, placing a soft kiss on her mêt's mouth piece. She moved to pull away, but he raised a hand to the back of her head, keeping it in place while his forked tongue flicked out between the grates and into her mouth. The kiss only lasted a few moments, but it left Kimberly reeling with desire.

"Too much Draigwyn?" Zedd lowly teased.

"Not for _me_ , but maybe for _him_ ," the brunette said, watching Hywel stumble to a chair and slump down into it. "Will he be okay?"

"More than he deserves to be, Kimberly." the warlord growled. "No one treats you with disrespect and gets away with it, not even Hywel, Ddugiaid Ystafell Ymolchi."

Without Zedd to stop her, Kimberly burst out laughing, which she knew was his intent. At least she still possessed enough sense to set her goblet down on the seat of a chair so she wouldn't spill it as continuous giggles wracked her body. "Oh, god," she wheezed, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye.

"If you think that's bad, the capital in which his castell resides is called Tŷ Bach." Zedd chortled as he set his goblet next to Kimberly's. "How awful is _that_?"

_Latrine? As in toilet?_

"N-Naaa!" the teenager rasped, holding her aching sides. "Zedd … wh-why? Why would anyone n-name a major city T-Tŷ Bach?"

"You ask a very good question, cariad," he commended. "Centuries ago, the Ddugiaid and Dugiaeth Ystafell Ymolchi had a falling out, and the Ddugiaid claimed part of the land as his. His bondiomêt said he could have it as long as he gave her the privilege of naming it."

"Oh na!" Kimberly gasped. "And he agreed?"

"Ydw. Ownership of the land was more important to Ddugiaid Tegwared than its name," Zedd said, "so his bondiomêt Dugiaeth Ceridwen divided the territory into two sections and named them. One she called Tŷ Bach; the second was dubbed a name even more crass than that. I'm not certain I should even tell you … "

"Oh please … " begged Kimberly, already starting to giggle, again. "I promise I won't get offended."

"Very well," Zedd agreed, "but don't say I didn't warn you. Dugiaeth Ceridwen called the second section of land Pidyn yn Nghont."

_Penis in Cunt._

Kimberly blinked at her mêt in shock but then doubled over in hysterical laughter. And once she started, she couldn't stop. "Oh. m-my. god," she crackled. "That's f-fucking hilarious. I c-can't even … is it s-still called th-that?"

"Na, years later the name got changed to something a bit more polite. Now it's called Pidyn yn y Gwain."

_Penis in the Sheath._

Kimberly dropped to her knees as she fell into another fit of laughter. "D-Do people actually l-live there?" she shrieked.

"It's the most populous city in Ystafell Ymolchi."

"I - I w-want t-to l-live th-there," the brunette stammered, barely able to speak. "I - I w-would d-die l-laughing."

Zedd chuckled softly. "Cariad, it appears you are well on your way."

Kimberly rested her forehead upon the cool stone floor as she fought to catch her breath. "You're n-not kidding," she puffed. "I d-don't think I've ever l-laughed so hard in all m-my life."

Zedd knelt beside her and gently stroked her back. "Never in the two years that I've known you, at least."

The brunette lifted her head up and gazed into her mêt's red visor. "Diolch, Zedd," she sincerely said. "I needed that."

"Croeso, Kimberly," he replied, mimicking her tone. "I'm glad you found it so amusing."

She sat up and with Zedd's help stood to her feet. "I must look pretty disheveled, huh?"

He gently combed his fingers through the teenager's soft, brown locks. "Just a bit, cariad."

Kimberly looked past her mêt to Hywel's unconscious form slouched in the chair. "What are you going to do with _him_?" she asked.

Zedd reached for his staff and said, "I'll send him back home to his chwaer. _She_ can deal with him once he awakens."

"Bad hangover?" Kimberly assumed as the warlord raised his sleek, silver weapon.

"Something like that." With a loud crack, Hywel's motionless body disappeared from the chair.

"You keep such great company, Zedd," the brunette sniggered.

"Ddugiaid Hywel is very powerful in his own right, Kimberly. It's best that I keep him as an ally. However," Zedd's voice turned ice cold, "this is his first and last warning. If he dares insult you again, I _will_ make an example out of him."

Kimberly raised herself on her toes and pressed her lips to the bottom of his mask. "Diolch." When she took a half-step backwards, he lightly caressed her cheek.

"It's nearly time for cinio, cariad. Will you stay and share the pryd with me?"

Although she wanted to fulfill her promise to Sirona, Kimberly knew she would be of little use to the woman and her family unless she ate lunch or, as it was called on Nogard, cinio. Besides, she actually wanted to spend more time with her mêt. "Ydw, I would like that. Zedd."

"Dda." He took hold of her arm, retrieved the two goblets from the seat of the chair, and escorted Kimberly to a dinner table already set for two.

"Ymddiheuraf am spoiling your plans to dine with your ffrind," she apologized as Zedd cordially pulled out a chair for her. When she sat down, he kissed the top of her head.

"Why?" he countered as he joined Kimberly at the table, opposite of her. "I'm not."

Zedd's gaze fell on Goldar. "You may find something else to do for a while."

The henchman bowed low at the waist. "Ydw, fy arglwydd." Once he left, the warlord rose to his feet.

"What are you doing, Zedd?" Kimberly asked.

"I'm about to serve you cinio," he nonchalantly replied.

"Na, absolutely not!" the teenager ghastly exclaimed, leaping to her feet. "You sit. I am more than capable of getting us bwyd."

"As am I," the warlord disputed.

"Ydw, but you shouldn't have to," Kimberly retorted, feeling utterly embarrassed by the unexpected role reversal _Lord_ Zedd was proposing. Surely, it could not be a normal occurrence in Nogardian culture for a man of his position to serve his mêt.

"It's not a matter of I have to; it's a matter of I _want_ to," Zedd assured her. "Nawr sit your cute asyn down, Kimberly, before I decide to bend you over the table and spank it for defying me."

The brunette felt her face redden. _How come that sounded so incredibly hot?_ But did she dare test Zedd, especially after what Zira had told her about his only bondiomêt who had loved him? Kimberly remained motionless, her body being ruled by her weeping, needy cunt. _Fuck, what was she getting herself into?_

Before she could rethink her decision, Zedd reached for the Ranger's hair and wound his hand within it, twisting it into a tight ponytail that succeeded in keeping her head immobile. He bent his face to her ear and growled, "After I spank you, cariad, I'm going to fuck you, hard."

"Oh, I'm counting on it," Kimberly breathlessly replied, her body quivering with excitement.

The Nogardian furled her cloak up just past her hips and then yanked her skirt and panties down to her knees. His hand cupped her small, firm ass while a metal-tipped finger reached between her thighs and parted her nether lips to prod at her taut clit. Kimberly was beside herself with pleasure, the heat within her rising. Her eyelids fluttered closed as Zedd's fingertip worked its magic on her.

The teenager's orgasm was right within reach when her mêt suddenly withdrew his hand, leaving her shaking with unfulfilled desire. She didn't think anything could feel worse than being denied sexual gratification until the combination of both flesh and metal bit into the soft, sensitive skin of her ass. A sharp shriek left the Ranger's mouth when the sting of the sharp slap radiated from her ass all the way down to her toes, causing the inside of her cunt to tingle with undeniable lust.

"Kimberly, tell me you liked that," Zedd snarled into her ear.

"Ydw!" she cried, practically sobbing, needing to come.

"Dda." Zedd tugged on the teenager's brown locks, tilting her head back so that he could kiss her deeply with his serpent-like tongue. She vaguely heard the soft clang of metal over her heavy breathing but throatily moaned when the Nogardian's cock entered her cunt with one powerful, violent thrust. Just as he promised, he fucked Kimberly with strong, forceful strokes.

Simultaneously, the hand not gripping her hair traveled to her breasts. Zedd roughly squeezed the left one, his metal fingernails cutting into the pert, fleshy mound through the lightweight materials of her cloak and top. The brunette gasped in pain, and her hands automatically flew up to grip his forearm; however, the fierce blaze of desire the pain kindled within her body prevented her from trying to pry his hand away from her sore, tender tit.

The passion that sparked the fire only intensified as Zedd's pointed, metal fingernails latched themselves firmly into her right breast. Bruising was imminent, Kimberly knew, but the mind-blowing orgasm that left her completely shattered and laying limp over the tabletop was well worth all the marks he made upon her skin. If experiencing that type of intense euphoria was the promised outcome each time, the Ranger would grant Zedd permission to be a little rougher with her in some of their future sexual encounters, as long as he continued proving that he was able to exhibit a healthy amount of self-control during them.

While she lay there recovering from their tryst, Zedd pulled Kimberly's skirt and panty back up to her waist and rested a hand on the small of her back. "Did I hurt you?" he asked almost hesitantly, as though he was afraid to hear her answer.

Kimberly raised her head and craned her neck to look at her mêt. "There will be some bruises, I'm sure," she honestly told him, "but, na, you didn't hurt me. In fact, I enjoyed that a lot more than I probably should have."

At her words, the brunette noticed Zedd's shoulder's sag just slightly with relief. "Dda," he breathed, leaning over her body to kiss her. Then, unfurling the bottom half of her cloak, he allowed it to fall back into place.

Once she was fully decent, Kimberly straightened as Zedd clasped his codpiece together so that its back and front met at his hips. He was about to hook the end of his metal spine to it when she ducked under his arm to perform the task for him. Then, whilst staying beneath her mêts dragonskin cape, she slipped her arms around his waist and deliberately trailed her mouth over his flesh, savoring the taste of him upon her tongue. Zedd stood perfectly still, much like when the teenager had clothed him earlier in the day, seemingly content to let her explore the uneven surface of his muscular back by way of kissing it.

Suddenly, the door swooshed open. Kimberly stepped out from behind her mêt just in time to see a man adorned in scarlet enter the room. To her astonishment, a red silk, waist-length cape hung from his shoulders, signifying royalty. The Ranger wondered if she should bow or half-curtsey to the man, but her decision was made for her the moment he sneered at her.

" _You_ ," he hissed. "Goldar told me you were here." The man's red-gold eyes pierced the brunette's brown ones. "He said you stopped to speak with the gohebwyr ddrwg. What was your reasoning behind that? They are worthless. Ignoring them would have been best."

Kimberly instantly became indignant. She may be young, but to be scolded by a complete stranger in the presence of her mêt did not sit well with her at all. "Firstly, I don't know who you _think_ you are, but _you_ will _never_ call me 'you' again. I am Arglwyddes Cyneberlê, Arglwydd Zedd's mêt, and you _will_ address me as such. Secondly, you may believe the gohebwyr ddrwg are worthless, and maybe they are, but right now the public of Nogard is only seeing me through the eye of the press. I thought exhibiting some control over its opinion of me would be wise for both my and Arglwydd Zedd's sake."

The man grinned and then laughed. "You need to know your place, Cyneberlê. Just because you share Arglwydd Zedd's bed doesn't automatically give you the official title of arglwyddes. You have to be his bondiomêt to be called Arglwyddes Cyneberlê, which you are not. And regarding the gohebwyr ddrwg, the next time you see them, just keep your mouth shut. You may be Arglwydd Zedd's mêt, but you are still an outsider. As such, the gohebwyr ddrwg will eat you alive."

Angered by the man in red's uninformed assumption, Kimberly snapped, "I handled the gohebwyr ddrwg just fine, thank you very much. And I didn't say anything that would soil Arglwydd Zedd's reputation, if that's what you're so concerned about."

"Na, your lack of Nogardian blood already has done that," the man irately retorted.

"Cynghorydd Efan, are you insulting my choice of mêt?" Zedd asked, his tone bone-chillingly cold. "Because that attitude will not be tolerated. Cyneberlê has already endured being insulted by Ddugiaid Hywel. She doesn't deserve to be ridiculed by you as well."

The royal advisor's red-gold eyes instantly shifted to the warlord. "Na, fy arglwydd, of course not. Please accept my apology."

"Cynghorydd, you are apologizing to the wrong person." Zedd gestured to Kimberly; however, Efan's steady gaze did not move.

"I will apologize to your mêt _after_ I see how she conducted herself with the gohebwyr ddrwg, not before."

Zedd's visor flashed red, but Kimberly laid a hand upon his arm, hoping to calm him. "It's fine, fy arglwydd. I don't want to start another dispute. As it is, I'm long past due at Baryk's tŷ."

"Cyneberlê, you cannot work without eating cinio first," Zedd insisted.

"Work?!" Efan nearly shouted. " _You_ work?!" Under his breath, he grumbled, "Wait until the gohebwyr ddrwg hear about _this_ … "

Kimberly opened her mouth to respond, but it was Zedd who spoke first. "Cynghorydd Efan is correct when he says he cannot formally address you as Arglwyddes Cyneberlê," he informed the teenager before directing his attention to the royal advisor, "however _,_ you _will_ call fy mêt by name when speaking to her. Otherwise, I swear I will cut off your tongue and feed it to Neidr. Do I make myself clear?"

Kimberly sighed heavily. "Fy arglwydd, I appreciate that you're upset on my account, but forcing people to show me respect isn't the way to go about this. It will be better for me to earn their respect."

Zedd growled low in his throat as he gazed upon Efan. "You are fortunate that Cyneberlê's heart is so pure, Cynghorydd, in that she doesn't wish for others to be harmed on her account. For that reason alone, I will retract my threat - for now."

Efan's eyes widened. "Diolch, fy arglwydd."

"Nawr, get out my sight," Zedd snarled. "Cyneberlê and I are going to eat cinio together."

"Ydw, fy arglwydd."

After Efan bowed out of the room, Kimberly sat down heavily on the seat of her chair and ran a hand through her hair, a ritual she often did when she was really stressed out. "Maybe your advisor was right, Zedd," she said as he strode to a table covered with exotic looking food. "Maybe I shouldn't have spoken to the gohebwyr ddrwg. I'm just tired of people making assumptions about me based upon stories that are far from factual."

"I know, cariad," Zedd said, plating their food. "Please don't fret about it. After all, it was only one interview, and knowing you, they probably found you quite charming like most people do."

Kimberly scoffed. "Yeah, well, I'm striking out with people in your inner circle, so I think you're overestimating me just a little."

Zedd walked back to the table, carrying two full plates and set them down on his and the teenager's silver placemats. "Kimberly, if you can charm _me_ , then you'll certainly be able to charm _them,_ given time."

 _Given time._ _How much time?_ she wondered. Another frown touched her lips as Zedd took off his mask and placed it on the table next to his place setting so that he could eat. "Speaking of time … you were concerned about my parents missing me during my stay on the moon … they must be terrified by now."

Zedd gave his head a light shake. "I sincerely doubt it, cariad. You can spend one day here and only miss an hour there."

"Oh," Kimberly said as she swallowed a scrumptious bite of sweet, tender meat. "But that must work the other way around, then, too, right?"

Zedd nodded in affirmation. "Absolutely. A day spent on Earth is equivalent to twenty-four days here, or roughly one Nogard month since our months are all about twenty-four days long," he patiently explained.

"Wait, so does that mean during the time you've been living on Earth's moon, you've been gone from Nogard for _years_?" Kimberly asked.

"If I lived on Earth, ydw, but one lunar day is nearly thirty Earth days long, which means I can travel between Earth's moon and Nogard without losing much time between the two."

"Oh, right," the brunette said, recalling what she had learned in her astronomy class three years prior about the different rotations and orbits of Earth's moon and planets. "Interesting how all that works … "

"Ydw, isn't it, though?" Zedd mused. "Here's another interesting fact for you, Kimberly: there are fifteen months in a Nogard year, which means its year is three hundred and sixty days long, which is only a few days shy of Earth's year. However, Nogard's days are two hours longer."

"And its climate is hotter," the teenager noted. Even inside the stone castle, the air was thick with Nogard's heat.

"Ydw, because Nogard is closer to its sun," Zedd answered, "but at least you are accustomed to some heat, cariad."

"Moreso now that I've gotten better acquainted with you," chirped Kimberly.

The warlord laughed. "Indubitably."

Kimberly smiled, glad her mêt's mood had not been so affected by his peers that he couldn't still find some humor with her. "I could get used to this … "

The teenager hadn't realized she had spoken those words aloud until Zedd said, "As could I."

Kimberly and her mêt stared at one another for a long, intense moment. What did that mean for her - for _them_?

Zedd finally broke the silence by asking, "Kimberly, did you still want to work on Baryk's tŷ?

She instantly nodded. "Ydw, please, Zedd," she implored. "Baryk and his teulu have been expecting me."

"Very well." The warlord clipped his mask into place and then stood from his chair. "Let's go."

Kimberly's jaw dropped with astonishment. "Wait, you're coming with me?"

"Ydw, of course I am," Zedd bluntly replied. "After being harassed earlier this morning, I'm not trusting anyone other than myself to watch over you."

"Ydw, but you can do that from here," the brunette insisted. "There's no need - "

"My physical presence should deter anyone from bothering you," Zedd curtly interrupted while reaching for his staff, "and if not, I will be right there to deal with them. As I have told you before, I _will_ protect what is mine." He stepped behind Kimberly and snaked an arm around her waist, molding her back to his front. "And you _are_ mine, cariad. You said so yourself." His words would have sounded like a gloat if not for the tender way in which they had been delivered.

Kimberly's heart fluttered in her chest as she slid her right hand down the length of Zedd's forearm until it reached his hand. "Ydw, yours," she confirmed, lacing her fingers with his.

Zedd kissed the younger's crown before using his free hand to lift the cloak's hood over her head and covered her face with the veil. Moments later the couple was engulfed in a luminous, red glow. When it dissipated, the teenager saw that her mêt had transported them approximately fifty yards from Baryk's house. Upon seeing the family working, she released his hand and twisted her hips so that she could face him. "May I go?"

Zedd bent his head towards Kimberly's while simultaneously unhooking her veil. The kiss he gave her was deep and thorough and left wanting neven more. "Hwyrach," he promised. "Heno ar ôl Swper."

Kimberly nodded, agreeing that waiting until tonight after dinner would be best, even though her body desired otherwise.

"However, if I thought we could get away with it, I would fuck you right here, right now," Zedd said, his tone serious.

"Leave it to you to be an exhibitionist," the teenager retorted.

"Not usually," the warlord candidly replied, "but for you I'd make an exception." He dragged a pointed, silver fingernail down her cheekbone to her chin, tipping her head back so that he could stare into her brown eyes. "I would very much enjoy testing your limits, Kimberly - and pushing you beyond them …"

The brunette had no idea how to respond to Zedd's request. What he was suggesting would take a lot of trust on her part, and based on the bruises he had left upon her chest earlier, she knew he planned to hurt her - that he _wanted_ to hurt her - yet, just like before, there was something inside of her that found his proposal strangely intriguing. But if this turned out to be a diabolical trick to lure the other Rangers to him, she would never forgive him. Ever.

By not rejecting it right away, Kimberly had wordlessly told Zedd that she was considering his proposition. Again, he could have gloated over his small victory, but instead he remained quiet, as though he knew exactly what was on the line. But, just to make sure, she said, "If we do this, Zedd, and you earn my trust, then you will have me forever. I promise. If not, I will return to Zordon and surrender my Darn Arian Pŵer to prevent you from using me as leverage ever again."

"Leverage?" Zedd repeated, sounding disgusted. "Of course you would think that, wouldn't you, cariad?" He sighed heavily. "This won't work unless you begin trusting me."

"Then, let's go slowly and see where that takes us," Kimberly gently suggested. "I know you can hurt me without _really_ hurting me, Zedd. That's a good start at least, right?"

The Nogardian traced his fingernail over her lips and said, "I don't want to _really_ hurt you, Kimberly. I definitely _could_ , but, believe it or not, I want you to find intense pleasure in the pain I will inflict upon you. _That_ is my goal, cariad."

Kimberly stared into her mêt's red visor. "So this truly has nothing to do with the other Rangers?" she asked, needing his confirmation.

Zedd firmly shook his head. "Na, Kimberly, this is only about you and me. I swear."

The Pink Ranger raised a hand to his face and pressed her palm against the side of his mask. "I believe you, Zedd."

Growling deep within his throat, the warlord kissed Kimberly, again, and then reattached the veil to her hood. "You need to go, cariad. Nawr."

Kimberly heeded her mêt's warning and left him watching over her to fulfill the promise she had made to Baryk and Sirona. She tried to match his regal gait as she walked just in case any gohebwyr ddrwg were watching her, but as soon as Sirona waved at her, she excitedly hurried her pace to greet her new acquaintance.

"Prynhawn dda, Meistres," Sirona said. "It's a pleasure to see you again."

"Prynhawn dda, Sirona," Kimberly politely replied, returning the woman's cordial greeting of 'good afternoon'. "I wanted to arrive sooner, but I got detained by the gohebwyr ddrwg on my journey here and then later by Arglwydd Zedd."

Sirona looked past Kimberly's shoulder and nodded. "So I see."

"He isn't here for any other reason than to protect me," the teenager assured the pregnant woman. "There was a man within the group of gohebwyr ddrwg who did not belong. He radiated evil, even moreso than Arglwydd Zedd."

Sirona dropped her voice and said, "Arglwydd Zedd has many powerful enemies, but not one matches the evil that is Tywysog Calum. He was the Brenin's only mab, so he was next in line to rule Nogard after his tad's reign."

"Oh fuck," Kimberly breathed. "Calum is also Zira's bondiomêt. Nawr it's all starting to make sense … "

"Come, work with me," Sirona murmured. "Then, we can talk more."

Kimberly lifted a rock and set it beside one Baryk had just placed on the third and final wall. "Prynhawn dda, Meistres," he said with a smile.

"Please drop the Meistres," the teenager pleaded. "My name is Kimberly or Cyneberlê, if you prefer. I already got scolded for insisting that someone address me as Arglwyddes Cyneberlê."

"Once you become Arglwydd Zedd's bondiomêt, you'll be able to add whatever title you wish in front of your name," Baryk said, "but for now we will call you Cyneberlê."

"Diolch." Kimberly picked up another stone.

"If I may be so bold, from whom were you trying to obtain the respect?" asked Baryk.

"From Cynghorydd Efan," Kimberly answered. "I met both him and Hywel, Ddugiaid Ystafell Ymolchi today." She was expecting a snicker or two at Hywel's ludicrous title, but instead she received worried looks from Baryk and Sirona.

"Cyneberlê, be careful around Ddugiaid Hywel," the woman cautioned. "He is not one to be trusted."

"Well, neither he nor Cynghorydd Efan like me" Kimberly dolefully stated. "Cynghorydd Efan is very displeased that I am not of Nogardian blood. He said that I'm soiling Arglwydd Zedd's reputation. Maybe he's right … "

"Na, do not let those men get into your head," Sirona commanded. "Arglwydd Zedd would never have chosen you for a mêt if he believed that. You are the type of woman who he needs by his side, Cyneberlê - the type of woman _Nogard_ needs. The photograph that surfaced this morning of you two together last night proves it. Arglwydd Zedd has never before shown that type of affection towards anyone, at least not anywhere it could be captured by the gohebwyr ddrwg and put on public display. Nogardian nobles may resent you for your lack of Nogardian blood, but I do not doubt the Nogardian cominwyr will come to respect you as Arglwydd Zedd obviously does."

"Which could prove dangerous," Baryk interjected as he stacked a rock atop of another. "By choosing you as a mêt, Arglwydd Zedd could make even more enemies for himself. He must truly care for you to take that risk."

Hearing Baryk and Sirona affirm Zira's belief made Kimberly wonder if the claim the warlord himself had made earlier in the day was true. "Arglwydd Zedd insists that I'm different than any of his past bondiomêts," she said, "and that his feelings towards me are different as well."

Sirona sat down on a rock in the shade to rest. "If he told you that, I would trust his words, Cyneberlê. What would Arglwydd Zedd gain by lying to you?"

 _Oh, I don't know … just my heart, body, and the power of the Purple Ranger._ Of course, he already had her body, and if he really wanted the powers of the Purple Ranger, Kimberly knew Zedd could recruit somebody else for that role. The fact that he had chosen her and was not pressuring her to exchange her Pink Power Coin for the purple one said a lot, too, as did his decision to show it to her in the first place when he easily could have kept it hidden along with his intentions.

The teenager turned to look at her mêt, who was scanning a wooded area with his visor, hopefully just as a precaution, and said, "Arglwydd Zedd has tried to hurt me in the past, but he has never lied to me. I always knew where I stood with him." The epiphany that Zedd had always been honest with her and the other Rangers, even while scheming their demise, left Kimberly feeling a bit light-headed.

Zedd's worst offense by far was draining the Green Ranger of his powers. However, the evil warlord had actually done the Pink Ranger and her fellow friends a great favor, though, at the time, they had been much too upset and angry at him to see it that way. Kimberly's unconditional love for Tommy and the other Rangers' unwavering loyalty to him had completely blinded them to the evil that still resided within him and to the good still alive inside of Zedd which had been desperately trying to make itself known. The other Rangers still blindly followed their great leader, the White Ranger, but the Pink Ranger's eyes had been opened; and now, she was seeing her mêt in a whole new perspective. Maybe Zira was right and Zedd needed Kimberly's help to guide him out of the darkness and back towards the light. She could not give up on him if there was any chance of that being true.

Kimberly quickly went back to work before Zedd caught her staring at him. She slightly wavered on her feet as she placed another block upon the wall. The last couple days had been extremely mentally and emotionally taxing on her, and it was starting to affect her physically. However, she didn't want to let Sirona down, so pretending that everything was fine, she continued moving rocks. It wasn't until she was bending over to retrieve another stone that she began feeling extremely hot, dizzy, and nauseous. She vaguely heard someone say her name before something sharp struck her temple and she descended into darkness.


	5. Nogard Day 2: Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kimberly begins questioning her future on Nogard and must make a decision regarding her relationship with Lord Zedd.

"Kimberly, come on, wake up."

The teenager heard a full voice speaking to her from a distance, but she was currently on a joy ride with Tommy in his new white convertible that his parents had given him for a graduation present. She sat in the passenger seat next to him, laughing as the hot, summer wind whipped through her brown locks. He was laughing, too, but it didn't sound like his laugh. It sounded more like a cackle, and one that she immediately recognized. Suddenly, Tommy morphed into a Nogardian with glowing lime-green eyes.

Kimberly screamed and frantically tried to scramble out of her seat, but the damn seatbelt wouldn't unlatch. Her fingers scrabbled for her Power Morpher, which was covered by the lap belt that had tightened its hold around her waist almost to the point of being painful. The man beside Kimberly cackled again, and this time she used her nails to try to claw her way out of the tight, stubborn strap. Suddenly, the man reached over the center console and grabbed her hand, gripping it firmly within his. The teenager shrieked, fighting even harder to get away.

"Kimberly, wake up _nawr_. You're dreaming."

She instantly went still. _Zedd? Was he in the car, too? In the backseat_ _,_ _maybe?_ Kimberly turned to look behind her just as a fierce wave of pain slammed into her, threatening to knock her out, again. However, a sharp slap on the cheek kept her from slipping back into the darkness.

"Stay with me, Kimberly."

"Zedd?" she muttered, barely able to see through the haze of pain. The brunette blinked a few times, trying to discern that it was indeed her mêt who had a hold of her and not the man with the glowing lime-green eyes. Her chest was heaving so hard that she was having difficulty catching her breath. She might only have been dreaming, but that man absolutely terrified her.

"Easy, cariad," Zedd soothed as he cradled Kimberly in his arms and tenderly stroked her hair. "You gave us all a bit of a scare."

"I passed out," the teenager stated, a hint of question in her voice.

"Ydw, and you hit your head on a rock after you fell."

Kimberly raised a hand to the temple that was throbbing, her fingers discovering a large bump and a few sutures.

"Sirona stitched you up just to stop the bleeding," Zedd told her.

"And I slept through it?"

"You were out cold, Kimberly. I've been trying to wake you for the last hour."

"That long?"

Zedd nodded. "I shouldn't have let you come here, not after everything you have been through today."

"It's not your fault, Zedd," the brunette replied, snuggling into his chest and closing her eyes. "I know I pushed myself too hard."

"Kimberly, don't you dare fall asleep on me."

"Mmm, but you're so soft and cuddly … " she lightly teased.

Zedd suddenly rose from a bed, cradling the teenager in his arms. "Come, cariad, I'm taking you back to Zira's tŷ," he gruffly replied, "Then, I'll show you just how soft and cuddly I can be."

"Oh, I already know. I found that out earlier today, remember?"

"Ydw, I recall."

"Besides, you have a planet to rule, and I've already taken up way too much of your time today."

"Perhaps, but the diversion was not an unwelcome one, Kimberly," Zedd insisted. "I enjoy spending time with you."

Kimberly kissed the side of her mêt's neck. "I enjoy spending time with you, too, Zedd," she truthfully said.

He grunted. "You just like the sex."

"I _do_ like it, but who wouldn't?" Kimberly countered. "The chemistry between us is very … "

"Electric," Zedd finished.

"Ydw," the teenager agreed. "The desire I have for you sizzles within me, even when you're not around."

"That's the damn swyn," the warlord muttered, sounding defeated.

"I thought so, too," Kimberly admitted, "but it's more than that, Zedd - I know it is … because I can _feel_ it."

He heaved a deep sigh. "I really wish Goldar hadn't struck you with a swyn serch, cariad. It makes this so much more complicated. I've never taken a mêt by force before - I never _had_ to. And ydw, I realize there are women here who would be more than willing to satisfy me in that regard, because I have had my fair share mêts since my last bondiomêt; but, after meeting you, Kimberly, I've lost interest in every other female, Nogardian or not. There's just something about you … " Zedd gave his head a slight shake as if trying to force his thoughts and feelings into a more comprehensible form. "You've been coerced into this relationship, cariad, and for that I am sorry."

Kimberly frowned. "I don't feel that I've been coerced - "

"You wouldn't, though, would you?" Zedd dolefully replied. "That's the very nature of the swyn."

Kimberly was uncertain how to reply to that. She wanted to reassure him, to convince him that her desire for him was genuinely hers and not just the result of magic, but even though she believed that it was, how could she make him believe it? It seemed impossible. He was so stubborn …

Finally, Kimberly settled upon asking, "So, does that mean you won't ever believe that the feelings I've developed for you are genuine?"

"Damniwch hi, Kimberly, I can't ever know that, and neither can you!"

"But I do, Zedd. You've seen that I can fight the swyn. And I know what I feel for you. It's real," the teenager insisted, hoping that she could make him believe it with at least as much certainty as she felt.

Zedd sighed heavily in resignation. "Let's get you home. You've had a trying day."

Knowing they had reached an impasse, Kimberly nodded in agreement. "All right, but may I say goodbye to Sirona first? After all, she did fix up my head for me."

Zedd aimed his staff at the nightstand and a moment later a card identical to the one he had made for Kimberly when she had been in the shower at her house in Angel Grove appeared, except instead of conveying the sentiment 'very naughty', this one read, "Croeso. -Arglwydd Zedd and Cyneberlê".

Then, with another abrupt zap, the couple vanished from the bedroom and reappeared in the center of Zira's living room. "And that's how you deal with the gohebwyr ddrwg, cariad," Zedd announced as he gingerly set Kimberly down upon her feet.

She smirked just as Zira strode into the room. "What the hell happened to you?" the Nogardian demanded, but instead of staring at the teenager's head, her cobalt-blue eyes were fixed on her brother's right forearm.

"It's nothing, Zira, really," he firmly replied. "Don't worry about it."

Kimberly cast her gaze downward, and she felt the color drain from her face when she finally noticed the thin scratch marks visible upon her mêts flesh. "Ymddiheuraf," she uttered, feeling absolutely terrible for injuring him.

"You attacked Arglwydd Zedd!" Zira shrieked.

"It was an accident!" Kimberly shouted back, her own temper rising due to Zira's hurtful accusation. "I didn't realize it was _him_!"

"How the hell could you not recognize Arglwydd Zedd?!"

"Kimberly fell and knocked herself unconscious," Zedd interjected on the brunette's behalf. "She attacked me just as she began regaining consciousness."

"I thought I was fighting with a seatbelt, trying to reach my Morpher," Kimberly told him. "I had no idea that it was your arm holding me in place."

"Of whom were you dreaming that would cause such a violent reaction?" Zedd asked.

"It was that man who accosted me this morning, the one with the lime-green eyes," the teenager honestly answered. "I felt inclined to morph, then, too."

"He won't hurt you, Kimberly," Zedd solemnly vowed. "I will make certain of it."

Zira's attention suddenly shifted to Kimberly. "Wait, you were accosted?"

"By more than one man, I'm afraid," Zedd said, once again responding for the petite, brunette girl. "That's why I brought her back here. She's had too much excitement for one day."

"Fine," Zira snapped, "but I have better things to do than to babysit your mêt, fy arglwydd."

"I do not need babysitting," Kimberly seethed, indignant.

Smirking, Zira gestured to the younger's wound. "Clearly you do. If you can't handle a bit of pressure from the gohebwyr ddrwg, Kimberly, then maybe you aren't fit to rule Nogard with Arglwydd Zedd, after all."

As the teenager stared at the woman she thought was her friend in stunned silence, Zedd stepped closer to his older sister. "Zira!" he scolded. "What the hell has gotten into you?"

The woman simply shrugged and said, "Swper will be finished soon, fy arglwydd, if you would like to stay … "

"Of course I am going to stay, but you and I need to talk first." The warlord turned his head slightly to address Kimberly. "Cariad, will you excuse us, please?"

The brunette nodded, glad that she had an excuse to disappear for a little while. "Of course, fy arglwydd. I'll be in my room if you should need me," she stoically informed him.

It appeared that Zedd wanted to stop her, but he must have seen she was not in the mood to stay, because he dismissed her with a short nod, granting her permission to leave his presence.

Although Kimberly yearned to dash to her room in a hasty retreat, she forced her strides to remain measured in order to maintain the pretense that her heart was still intact and had not shattered into painful shards within her chest. As if dealing with Tommy's, her friends', and even her mother's betrayals wasn't enough, she now had to add Zira's to it, as well. _So much for being able to trust people_ , the teenager bitterly thought as she entered the bedroom designated for her. It really wasn't hers - _nothing_ on Nogard was hers, not even the clothes she was wearing. "I don't belong here," the brunette mumbled under her breath as she stripped out of her cloak and gloves. After hanging them in the wardrobe, she paced the floor, debating her next move.

Obviously, returning to Angel Grove was the most logical choice. Once she retired as the Pink Ranger, Kimberly would finally be able to live a "normal" life. She'd be able attend the University of Michigan as planned, get her degree, and then she would have the freedom to figure out for herself what to do from there. Because of Goldar's spell, she figured her love life would most likely remain stagnant forever, but she could survive without a man in her life tying her down. Maybe she'd even do some traveling within her own world or catch up with her former fellow Rangers, Jason Lee Scott, Zachary Taylor, and Trini Kwan, and help them in their quest for world peace. Not being a Power Ranger or a queen didn't mean Kimberly couldn't still do a lot of good and help a lot of people. Of course, it would all be for naught if Zedd destroyed Earth in a fit of rage over her leaving him, which was why she hadn't left Nogard, at least not yet. Or so she kept telling herself.

A repetitive thumping upon the door caught Kimberly's attention. Her brows knitted in confusion as she walked to answer the odd sound. Upon opening the door, her brown eyes widened when Neidr slithered unapologetically into the room. The teenager heard the rumble of Zedd's deep voice coming from the kitchen, so she figured she was safe re-closing the door and hanging out with his pet snake until they summoned her for Swper.

Kimberly didn't know Zira's rules for snakes slithering upon beds, so she sat on the floor with her back leaning against the mattress, allowing Neidr full access to her body. The serpent promptly stretched its upper body up to the teenager's head while its forked tongue flicked in and out of its mouth to 'taste' the sutures stitching closed the split skin of her temple. "I'm fine," she reassured her mêt's pet.

And there were those two words, again. Kimberly swore that she could be _dying_ and her final words would be, "Don't worry, I'm fine". Shaking her head, she stared at the snake whose golden eyes she was certain momentarily flashed red. Neidr seemed just as angry at her answer as Zedd would have been if he had heard it. "Okay, so maybe I'm not fine. Maybe I'm feeling unbelievably stressed-out right now, and I don't know what to do about it." The brunette inhaled a deep breath then gradually released it. "What if Zira's right, Neidr? What if I _am_ unfit to rule over Nogard at Arglwydd Zedd's side? But it's not even so much that it is convincing him that my feelings for him are real. I could probably figure out how to rule a planet over time, but I'd prefer not to have fy mêt scoff at me whenever I profess my love for him. Neidr, do you have any suggestions that might help in that regard?" The snake simply laid its large head upon Kimberly's shoulder and blinked. "I didn't think so. Looks like I'm going to have to figure this one out all by myself."

Sighing, the teenager tilted her head back against the side of the mattress, letting her heavy eyelids fall shut. She was positively exhausted, and she wanted nothing more than to let her troubles slip away into nothingness. Maybe then, she would finally be 'fine'.

On her journey to the blissful unknown, Kimberly vaguely felt something pinch her shoulder, but the pain was miniscule compared to the vast darkness around her. She floated within the void, feeling completely weightless. Although strange and unfamiliar, the sensation was not unwelcome, especially since it took the place of the one that made her feel like she was about to suffocate underneath the immense weight of all the decisions she still had to make about her future.

"Kimberly!"

Her mêt's desperate call penetrated the darkness, his voice seeming like a rope to pull her back toward consciousness and the real world. And back toward all of the decisions and responsibilities that threatened to crush her into the ground beneath their weight. For that reason, Kimberly clung fiercely to the vast nothingness surrounding her, craving only a little more time to float freely within the empty void.

But Zedd's voice pierced her solitary realm of peace once more, popping it as if it were nothing more substantial than a soap bubble and flinging her back into the reality she feared might smother her. Her eyelids fluttering but refusing to open fully, Kimberly groaned in pain - but it was the emotional pain that drew forth that despairing sound, not the physical pain from her split and swollen temple. Shadowy shapes of darkness and light danced and merged within the eyelash-latticework of her narrow field of vision, and then she saw a dark, unfocused form kneeling next to her. There was a part of her that wanted to tell the warlord to go away and leave her be, but another part urged her to call him closer and allow him to envelop her within his strong arms and press her to his chest. However, Kimberly obeyed neither, simply choosing to sit where she was. A thick pair of muscular arms gently wrapped around her, pulling her upright and drawing her close. Unthinkingly, her arms encircled her mêt's neck and she nuzzled her cheek against his shoulder. "Zedd," she breathed.

"That's it, cariad, come back to me," he purred, his metal-tipped fingers tracing soothing patterns up and down her spine.

With a soft sigh, Kimberly melted into her mêt's embrace and finally opened her eyes. "I'm here," she murmured. "I could never leave you, Zedd."

She could feel the Nogardian tense, and although he did not question her words, it made her wonder if he believed her. Instead, he calmly inquired, "Are you hungry? It's been hours since cinio."

Kimberly had to think for a moment before replying with somewhat uncertainty, "I don't think so, Zedd. You and Zira can eat without me. I'm still feeling really dizzy and nauseous." She slightly shifted her arms and winced. "I think Neidr bit me."

"She did," the Nogardian bluntly confirmed. "I believe she was trying to keep you from falling unconscious again. When she failed, she alerted me to your condition."

A hint of a smile played upon Kimberly's lips as she recalled the snake 'banging' on the door to get her attention. "Neidr can be quite persistent," she noted with amusement.

"Very." Zedd caressed the top of the teenager's head with his mask's mouthpiece. "She's especially fond of you, Kimberly."

"I'm fond of her, too," the brunette replied. "It seems strange to say this, Zedd, but Neidr is almost like an extension of you."

The warlord continued to skim the bottom edge of his mask over Kimberly's sleek, brown hair. "Do you really think so?"

She nodded. "Ydw, but I also know I've been concussed … "

"Even so, you remain very astute, cariad," Zedd praised with admiring commendation. "It's just one of the many traits I appreciate about you."

"Well, at least someone does." Kimberly quipped. She had meant to say the remark flippantly, but the truth behind her words affected her tone, making them come across as being more serious than she consciously intended them to sound.

Zedd's arms flexed, constricting Kimberly tighter within his muscular embrace. "What has happened between you and Zira since this morning?" he asked. "She refused to tell me."

The teenager gave her head a subtle shake and answered, "If Zira refused to tell you, then I had better not say."

However, Zedd was not so easily deterred, so he pressed her for more information. "Did you two have a fight?"

"Na, not at all," Kimberly assured him. "It wasn't anything like that, which is why I was so surprised by her hostility towards me."

"I see … " Zedd absently replied, seemingly deep in thought. "Perhaps you should come to Swper, after all." When the brunette opened her mouth to object, he added, "At least sit with us if you'd rather not eat. That way I can keep a better eye on you."

Since Zedd was capable of observing her actions from the moon while she was down on Earth, Kimberly knew he would be able to see her through a few measly walls. However, she didn't feel up to arguing with him about it, so she yielded to his request. "Fine, Zedd, I'll attend Swper with you and Zira, but I'm not promising it will be pleasant."

The Nogardian chortled deep within his throat. "Duly noted, cariad."

Kimberly shuddered within her mêt's embrace, her body once again sexually responding to the low rumble of his chuckle. And he, of course, noticed the subtle movement.

"That really gets you going, doesn't it?" he gently teased.

Recognizing that there was no point in lying to Zedd because he could easily stick a finger in her cunt to find out for himself just how wet his chuckle had made her, Kimberly nodded while squirming at the mental imagine that particular train of thought provoked. However, there was a more pressing matter that needed her attention first, but to her addled mind, the bathroom door seemed miles away.

Zedd followed the teenager's gaze and softly asked, "Do you need help."

"Just getting there," she replied. "I should be able to manage after that."

"Of course, cariad." Zedd rose to his feet and then bent to scoop Kimberly up into his arms. She wrapped an arm securely around his neck and rested her head against his chest as a wave of nausea hit her. "Perhaps you would feel better if you morphed," the Nogardian impassively suggested as he strode toward the bathroom. "It might accelerate the healing process as well."

"At this point I will try anything to get rid of this damn headache," Kimberly muttered. Zedd set her down upon her feet before the bathroom door and opened it with his palm.

"I'll stay close by in case you should need me," he told her.

Kimberly nodded and then carefully entered the smaller yet still luxurious room as the door shut behind her. Although walking proved to be more challenging than she had anticipated, she was still glad that Zedd hadn't followed her. The privacy was nice, especially since she ended up vomiting in the toilet first before urinating in it.

As she washed her hands, the petite, brunette teenager stared at the reflection in the oval mirror that hung upon the wall in front her, barely recognizing the pale, frazzled-looking girl staring back at her. Zedd was definitely seeing her at her worst. Taking his advice, she reached into her skirt's muted silver waistband and pulled out her Power Morpher. She then held it in front of her and calmly called out, "It's Morphin' Time! Pterodactyl!" Within seconds, Kimberly was clad head to foot in the pink armor of her Power Rangers suit. The computer within it checked her vitals, giving her a verbal rundown of them in the earpiece inside her pink and white helmet that was molded to resemble the beaked face of a Pterodactyl dinosaur.

" **Pink Ranger, your core temperature has exceeded normal limits at one-hundred-one-point-eight degrees** ," the female computerized voice informed her. " **You are currently unfit for battle. Do you give me permission to lower your body's core temperature? Yes or no?** "

"Yes," Kimberly snapped in English, rather annoyed by the question to which she thought the answer should be quite obvious, even to a non-living entity.

" **I am preparing to reduce your body's core temperature** ," the computer announced.

"Thank you." Kimberly walked out of the bathroom, grimacing when a needle from within the suit suddenly pricked her right upper arm. "Ow!" she loudly complained and instinctively rubbed the affected area, though the armor prevented her from effectively reaching it.

"Are you all right?" Zedd curtly inquired, his stance just as uptight as his voice.

Kimberly sighed heavily. "I have a fever, and just got stabbed by a needle in my suit to help reduce it," she replied, matching his Nogardian.

Zedd offered her a short nod. "I thought you felt rather warm. Is it working."

"PRIDS, what is my core temperature now?" Kimberly asked the Power Ranger Internal Diagnostic System.

" **Your core temperature is above average at ninety-nine-point-three** ," the computer answered. " **Your core temperature will be within normal limits in one minute, seven seconds and counting. However, I found swelling in your frontal lobe that is disconcerting**."

Kimberly frowned. "Can you repair it?"

" **Yes, but it will require you to be put under anesthesia** ," PRIDS said. " **The procedure will take six-point-five minutes, and you will be unconscious for three hours. Would you like me to proceed?** "

"No, stand by," Kimberly ordered.

" **Standing by, Pink Ranger.** "

Kimberly turned her attention back to her mêt, who was studying her with keen interest. "Well, the good news is I no longer have a fever; the bad news is I have some swelling in my frontal lobe, and in order to repair it, I will be rendered unconscious for three hours."

The Nogardian warlord strode closer to Kimberly and circled her like a hawk hunting, evoking some primitive prey-drive within her, increasing her awareness of her comparatively small stature, fragile human body, and her weakness due to her recent head injury to an almost-alarming extent, and it reminded her of their respective positions. She suddenly became acutely aware again that she was the Pink Power Ranger, the chosen warrior of Good, and that he was _Lord Zedd_ , a power-hungry alien being hellbent upon conquering Earth and the master of Evil. As they stood facing each other right now, they were sworn enemies, and as long as she wore pink, they would continue to be so adversaries. The Pink Ranger could not be in love with the personification of Evil Incarnate as represented by the powerful being before her … and yet Kimberly was, and she knew that it went far deeper than the terrible spell Goldar had cast upon her in an attempt to bring her under Lord Zedd's control.

"All right, Ceidwad _Pinc_ ," he sneered, "after Swper, I will give you your three hours."

Kimberly laughed humorlessly, seeing right through her mêt's seemingly selfless benevolence, knowing him well enough to suspect some ulterior motive. "What's the catch, _Aglwaydd_ Zedd?" she demanded. "What do you want in return?"

Chuckling darkly, he admitted, "You know me all too well, Ceidwad Pinc - as always, tit for tat. I give you three hours my time and you give me three hours of yours. Seems only fair, don't you think?"

Kimberly scoffed. "You do realize I could leave Nogard to heal, right?"

Zedd stepped behind the teenager and lowered his face to her covered ear. "But you won't, _Ceidwad Pinc,_ \- because you are not a coward," he evenly countered.

Moving forward slightly to give herself some space so that she could remove her helmet, Kimberly then turned her head and eyed the Nogardian behind her, her gaze causing the sexual tension between them to rise exponentially. "You're right, Arglwydd Zedd, I am not a coward. Plus, I have to admit, your stipulation _does_ intrigue me."

The warlord's red visor gleamed wickedly at the Pink Ranger. "Yes, I thought it might."

"Oh fuck it," Kimberly uttered. She raised herself up on her tiptoes, hooked an arm around Lord Zedd's neck, and molded her lips to his grated mouthpiece. Within seconds, his forked tongue slipped past her lips and between her teeth as they softly parted to allow him to explore her mouth.

While they kissed, the Nogardian effortlessly hoisted the teenager up into his arms and carried her to the bed, laying her down upon the silken sheets and pinning her beneath his weight. She set her helmet down upon the bedside table next to them, his mask quickly joining it. "I'm going to destroy you, Ceidwad Pinc," he threateningly growled, his glowing, green-yellow eyes boring into her brown ones.

"You already have," she whispered to him, reluctantly admitting defeat.

Lord Zedd devilishly grinned, showing off both rows of sharp, intimidating teeth lining his mouth. "Not nearly enough," he declared then pressed his mouth upon Kimberly's in a hard, commanding kiss as he reveled in his victory over her.

"Fuck, this feels so good," the warlord snarled between deep, violent kisses.

Silently agreeing with him, the Pink Ranger desperately wanted her long time adversary to fuck her, but her suit and his codpiece prevented that from happening, although it did not stop them from trying, which only added to her ever-mounting frustration. Finally, Zedd relented, rumbling, "Power down, Kimberly."

Beyond relieved, the brunette reached for her helmet and lowered it over her head. "PRIDS, power down," she firmly commanded.

" **I am unable to comply, Pink Ranger. Running internal diagnostic systems check now.** "

"Kimberly … " Zedd grunted, his impatience showing.

"I can't power down," she bluntly informed him.

"Why the hell not?" he demanded just as PRIDS announced, " **Frontal lobe swelling has increased by five percent. The injury must be repaired immediately to prevent irreversible damage or possible termination, Pink Ranger**."

" _Termination?!_ " Kimberly shrieked, completely astounded by the grim diagnosis.

"Fix it now," Zedd snapped, rising to his feet. "You're of no use to me dead, Kimberly."

"Nice. Real romantic there, Zedd," the teenager snarkily joshed, taking her mêt's heartless response in stride. The aloof expression on his face told her that her prognosis had shocked him much more than he wished to admit, despite his uncaring words and impassive tone when speaking them. "Don't worry, fy arglwydd, I'll be fine."

"See that you are," the Noganian frostily replied, "because once you awaken, I fully intend to collect my debt, just so you know."

"Thanks for the warning, Zedd," Kimberly flippantly retorted before turning her attention to the Power Rangers Internal Diagnostic System.

"PRIDS, you may proceed with the procedure to reduce the swelling in my frontal lobe."

" **Understood, Pink Ranger. Preparing anesthesia now.** " Kimberly felt another sharp prick followed by the command, " **Pink Ranger, count down from ten.** "

Closing her eyes, the teenager obeyed PRIDS' order. When she reached the number four, she thought she might be dreaming when she felt somebody grab hold of her left hand and gently squeeze it, but before she could confirm whether the light, comforting pressure was real, everything faded to black.

* * *

When Kimberly finally started regaining consciousness, the first noise she heard was Zedd's deep, familiar voice, and it did not sound at all happy to her ears.

"I don't care what it takes, I want him found," he demanded.

 _Who found?_ Kimberly wondered.

"Fy arglwydd, there is no way anyone can get on or off Nogard without our knowledge, so he must have had help from someone living here," replied an ingratiating voice that Kimberly recognized as Cynghorydd Efan's.

"The perpetrator must be discovered and destroyed, Efan," Zedd ruthlessly commanded. "No one accosts fy mêt and lives to tell about it. _No one_."

"Ydw, fy arglwydd."

Very confused, teetering on the edge of scared, Kimberly weakly called out for her mêt. "Zedd?"

"Kimberly!" he exclaimed, concern thickening his voice. "You're awake!"

"Just," she softly replied, her eyelids fluttering open as if to prove it, although they remained unseen within her helmet. She looked between Zedd and Cynghorydd Efan and asked, "What's going on?"

"That can wait, cariad," Zedd assured her. "Sut dych chi?"

Kimberly smiled within her helmet's protective confines, glad that he cared enough about her to inquire about her well-being. "Honestly? My brain feels like it just got scrambled like a raw egg inside my skull then got put back together by Humpty Dumpty or some very clumsy toddlers - but I'll be all right."

"That could be because you only slept for two hours," Zedd replied. "Perhaps, you should go back to sleep for at least the third hour that your suit recommended."

Ignoring his suggestion, Kimberly changed the subject, curious about the conversation she had overheard, and said, "You sounded angry."

"The hologram of your interview with the gohebwyr ddrwg has just been released," Cynghorydd Efan replied in Zedd's stead.

"Hologram?" Kimberly drowsily inquired.

"A video of what occurred," the warlord clarified for her benefit.

"Oh na … " she groaned. "I hadn't realized that someone was recording the interview. How bad is it?"

"It's not," Cynghorydd Efan plainly stated. "Arglwydd Zedd was right. You conducted yourself exceedingly well, fy arglwyddes."

Surprised to hear Efan, who previously spoke so contemptuously to and of her, refer to her by a title of respect reserved specifically for nobles, Kimberly tried to sit up, but her Power Ranger suit felt like it weighed a hundred pounds. "PRIDS, power down," she tersely ordered.

" **As you wish, Pink Ranger,** " the computer answered.

Kimberly's pink armor dissolved, revealing her form once again clothed in the magenta dress.

"Are you sure it was safe for you to do that?" Zedd asked, clearly concerned.

"PRIDS wouldn't have allowed me to do it if it wasn't, as you saw earlier," the teenager gently reminded him.

"Still, cariad, you look extremely pale. We should leave you to get some more sleep," Zedd insisted. "You and I will speak hwyrach. I promise."

Kimberly wanted to argue, but her heavy eyelids were already falling shut.

Zedd leaned over her and lightly kissed her on the mouth. "I'll check on you in a bit, fy arglwyddes."

A hint of a smile touched the brunette's lips. "Iawn, Zedd," she mumbled sleepily, already on the edge of dropping into slumber even as she replied.

"Since when do you let your mêts speak to you so informally?" Kimberly vaguely heard Cynghorydd Efan ask, his tone censorious, through the fog of impending slumber as his and Zedd's footsteps retreated towards the bedroom door.

"Ers nawr" were the last words the imperious warlord spoke before the door opened and then closed, leaving the teenager alone to drift off into a sound sleep, hopefully one unbothered by the nightmares that had assaulted her unconscious mind earlier.


	6. Nogard Day 3: Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kimberly makes a choice that will affect her entire future, and because of that choice, she meets a person who has been extremely influential in Lord Zedd's life.

**Nogard**

**Day Three**

Upon waking up from a very deep, dreamless slumber in a dimly lit bedroom, Kimberly instantly realized that she had slept much longer than the extra hour she had intended after undergoing the procedure to repair her frontal lobe. She stretched and rolled onto her side only to collide with the much larger and firmer body belonging to her Nogardian mêt. Startled but also glad to see him sleeping soundly next to her, the teenager relaxed against him beneath the silk bed sheet, casually draping an arm around his waist and pillowing her head upon his shoulder. She watched the hypnotic movement of his chest as it rose and fell with his deep, even breaths. Unable to help herself, Kimberly slid her arm up from Zedd's waist and splayed her fingers over his steadily beating heart, wondering just how much dark magic was swirling within it and if it was possible to break any of the spells to make his heart less evil without destroying him along with them.

"Bore dda, cariad," the warlord suddenly murmured into Kimberly's brown, fine hair as his mouth affectionately caressed her crown.

"Bore dda, Zedd," she said, returning his polite greeting of 'good morning'.

"Sut dych chi?" her mêt asked between kisses.

"I'm feeling much better today, diolch," Kimberly truthfully replied. "But I'm really sorry for waking you, Zedd. That was not my intention at all."

"Then next time don't touch me, cariad," the Nogardian gruffly chided. He slid his arm out from underneath Kimberly, forcing her to fall back upon the mattress with him looming over her. He peeled the sheet away from her body and gently rubbed a hand over her exposed midriff. When Lord Zedd's fingertips grazed the top of the skirt's silver waistband where her Power Morpher stayed hidden, the Pink Ranger's pulse quickened, aware she was in no position to stop him from taking it. She was his and would remain so indefinitely.

However, instead of plucking the Power Morpher out of its pocket, the warlord bent his head, his mouth hovering mere centimeters above the teenager's as he slipped a hand beneath the skirt's waistband and delved into her panty. His green-yellow eyes gleamed with lust while his metal-clad fingers patiently stroked her wet slit. The brunette whimpered and arched her back, thrusting her breasts forward and catching the warlord's gaze as searing hot desire burned its way through her heated body to her loins.

"Kimberly, let me claim what is mine."

"Ydw!" she gasped just as Lord Zedd's mouth crushed her lips which immediately parted, allowing his long, skillful tongue full access to her mouth, making her tremble with need. Meanwhile, he pulled his hand out from underneath Kimberly's clothes so that he could help her shimmy out of the magenta batiste skirt and the muted silver panty that lay hidden underneath it. They broke their kiss just long enough for the Norgardian to yank the brunette's top off, revealing her bruised breasts. He methodically rolled her tender nipples between his forefingers and thumbs, drawing out a gasp of pleasure from her while she deftly unclasped his codpiece, surrendering herself completely to her conqueror, Lord Zedd.

Once naked, the warlord mounted Kimberly, tightly gripping her shoulders and taking her in one single, violent thrust, burying himself in her all the way to the hilt. Her cry of defeat was lost in his mouth which continued to devour hers as his hard, beastly cock roughly slammed into her again and again, utterly and completely ravaging her throbbing cunt. The teenager entangled Lord Zedd within her supple limbs as he laid siege upon her entire being and claimed every inch of her as his own with his tongue, his hands, and his cock, her body and her very soul relishing her own demise.

The Nogardian grunted in triumph when he finally defeated his adversary the Pink Ranger and planted his flag of victory deep inside of his conquest's young, petite body. She allowed him to overwhelm her completely, giving herself to the victor as he filled her past the brink with his essence, claiming his prize and marking her as _his._

Lord Zedd gradually stopped moving within her and lifted his mouth from Kimberly's to rain kisses all over her face, neck, and shoulders, reveling in his victory. After a few minutes of showering her in soft affections, he kissed her lips then rose to his knees, his green-yellow eyes raking over his mêt's still-trembling, thoroughly ravished body; however, they didn't hold the same lust that had burned within them mere minutes ago. Instead, they glowed with another emotion - a much deeper emotion - one that the teenager dared not name until he did.

"Kimberly … "

The word was but an utterance upon Zedd's tongue, but the brunette had never heard her name spoken with such reverence before.

"I adore you."

Believing her mêt's sincerity but also recognizing that he wouldn't believe her if she professed similar feelings for him, Kimberly simply stroked his thighs and softly replied, "I know, Zedd."

The warlord pressed one last kiss to her mouth before stretching out on his side next to the teenager with his face mere inches from hers. "The man that accosted you yesterday was wrong," he declared. "I could never destroy you, Kimberly; not in the literal sense of which he was referring."

Tears sprang to the brunette's eyes, because she _knew_ Zedd spoke the truth; she could _feel_ it deep within her. Smiling warmly at him, she kissed his forehead. He leaned into her touch and closed his eyes, letting her hold him.

"I can feel your light, cariad," the Nogardian uttered as Kimberly lovingly caressed his face with the backs of her fingers.

"How do you mean?" she softly asked. "Because I'm a Ceidwad Pŵer?"

"It's what makes you a formidable Ceidwad, Kimberly," Zedd answered, "but I suspect you possessed your light long before Zordon recruited you to be one of his ' _freedom fighters',_ although that most likely is the reason why he chose you. As much as I would love to completely eradicate the light inside of you, I cannot."

"Because you need it."

Zedd opened his eyes and sat up with the bedsheet pooling around his waist. "Ydw, I need it, cariad," he openly admitted. "But there are others that will feel threatened by your light and will try their damnedest to extinguish it from the universe forever. Kimberly, you trusted Zordon to protect you from danger; now it's time for you to extend that same courtesy to me. As long as you remain fy mêt I will never let you be destroyed. I promise you that."

Kneeling before her conqueror, Kimberly vowed, "And as long as you keep me for your mêt, Arglwydd Zedd, you will have my trust. I promise _you_ this."

"Dda," he growled, "because I intend never to let you go."

"You'd better not, fy arglwydd, otherwise I _will_ find a way to kill you."

Zedd chortled. "That I do not doubt, cariad. Nawr come, you need to bathe. You still have some blood in your hair from your encounter with the rock yesterday." He didn't bother putting on his metal codpiece to walk to the bathroom, so Kimberly followed his example and left her garments behind as she trailed close at his heel. When Zedd paused to open the bathroom door, she spontaneously leapt onto his back, hooking her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist.

"Kimberly, cariad, what are you doing?" he inquired, chuckling.

"Oh … just checking out the view from up here. Must be nice being so tall," she wistfully mused as they entered the bathroom.

"You aren't still fretting over Ddugiaid Hywel's snide comment about your height, are you?" Zedd asked as he stopped before the stone basin that stayed continuously filled with clean water.

"No, I know that I'm vertically challenged," Kimberly answered, sighing lightly. "I hear it all the time. Hell, even fy tad still calls me 'small fry'. I just think I'd be able to command more respect if I was taller."

Zedd ran his palms up and down the length of the brunette's calves, his fingers gently massaging her toned muscles. "Trust me, cariad, you're doing just fine in that regard, despite your lack of height. That hologram recording of you caused quite the stir within the castell. Efan will be grovelling at your feet for quite some time, and rightfully so."

The warlord stepped over the basin's rim and into the lukewarm water. As he lowered himself onto the seat, Kimberly fluidly swung around her body around his so that she could sit upon his lap. "It wasn't Efan so much as it was Ddugiaid Hywel," she said. "There's something about him I really don't like."

Zedd rested his chin on the top of the younger's head. "I expect you will say much the same about most of my inner circle once you meet them, cariad."

"Maybe so, and I'm certainly not trying to meddle in your affairs, Zedd," Kimberly assured her mêt, "but at the same time, I feel obligated to warn you about Ddugiaid Hywel."

"Kimberly, I have known Hywel for centuries," the warlord curtly replied, defending his fellow nobleman. "I understand that you have my best interest at heart, but I'm going to ask you to leave Nogard's politics to me. After yesterday, the less contact you have with the Ddugiaid, the better."

"I agree," the brunette concurred with no small amount of relief, "but what happened between him and me was partly my fault, too, fy arglwydd. Goldar told me to wait in the hallway until I was summoned. I should have listened."

Zedd gently combed his fingers through the Ranger's dark locks. "Under the circumstances, I'm glad that you didn't, cariad."

Zedd leaned over sideways to grab a blue glass bottle and a large pitcher. "Nawr, let's see what we can do about your hair. Tilt your head back, Kimberly," he commanded while scooping up a pitcher full of water, "and cover your sutures with your hand so I don't get them wet."

Kimberly obeyed Zedd's instructions and relaxed as he lathered her wet locks with a floral scented shampoo. "That smells so good," she sighed, inhaling a deep breath.

"Ydw, it's one of Zira's favorites. It's made from the flower that blooms from the mefus plants which is used in mefusadd."

Kimberly winced as the bump beneath her hand began to throb with stress. "I have so much to learn … " she groaned.

Zedd began rinsing her hair. "I know, cariad, and don't think I don't understand or care how taxing this transition has been on you. I never intended for our relationship to become public knowledge so quickly, and I take full blame for that. I should have been more discreet in my affections towards you, especially when I know how closely the gohebwyr ddrug watch me, but that's not the type of relationship I want us to have. However, putting you in the public eye clearly has its dangers, too."

Kimberly turned to face her mêt "I can handle it, Zedd."

His green-yellow eyes glowed with rage as did his body. "You should have let Goldar handle it like he wanted; and for fuck's sake, Kimberly, the next time you feel inclined to morph, just do it!"

The teenager nodded, understanding the warlord's anger because, in hindsight, she _should_ have done both those things. Letting the man with the lime-green eyes leave uncathed was a huge blunder on her part, and both she and her mêt knew it. "Ymddiheuraf, Zedd," she sincerely apologized. "Truly I am."

His anger gradually receded. "I know you are, Kimberly, but the injury you acquired last evening reminded me just how vulnerable you really are. I don't want to lose you, not after finally getting you within my grasp."

"One down, only five more to go … " Kimberly teased.

"Only temporarily," Zedd reminded her. "Once you surrender the Darn Arian Pŵer Pinc, the Ceidwaid will be at full-strength again."

"All this time, you knew Kat was going to be my predecessor, and yet you didn't step in and try to foil Zordon's plans," Kimberly stated, mildly confused.

"For the simple fact that she was also Tommy's new love interest," Zedd blandly replied. "If I had destroyed her, he might have tried rekindling his relationship with you, and that was a risk I was unwilling to take."

"Which makes sense," the teenager agreed, "but then why aren't you attacking them now?"

Zedd laughed. "I understand that you are angry with your ffrindiau, Kimberly, but if I attacked them, you would give Zordon the Darn Arian Pŵer Pinc faster than I could say 'Ceidwad Pinc', and don't you dare deny it."

The brunette sighed heavily. Despite how her friends had treated her, she still wouldn't want to see them get destroyed. "You're right, Zedd," she relented.

"See? What did I tell you?" He drew the teenager into his arms and held her against him upon his lap. "You're too sweet for your own damn good, Kimberly."

"So you keep reminding me, Zedd." She ran a hand over his chest and down his abdomen. His cock instantly sprang to life at her light touch, breaking the surface of the water, and she couldn't help but glide her palm over its thick head.

"Oh fuck … " the warlord groaned.

Kimberly raised herself upon her knees, balancing on her mêt's thigh so that she could gently kiss and suck the side of his neck while continuing to rub her hand up and down the full length of his erection. When Zedd leaned back against basin's stone wall and closed his eyes, she asked, "I assume this is okay?"

"Oh ydw," he answered, his voice heavy with desire. "I've waited nearly forty-eight years to be with you, cariad, and I plan to savor every intimate moment we share together."

Smiling, Kimberly moved her mouth up to the sensitive orifice that was Zedd's left ear. As she circled it with the tip of her tongue, his cock twitched hard in her hand; yet, like before when she had touched him, the rest of him remained completely still. "How do you maintain such control over your body, Zedd?" she finally asked him. "The last time I pleasured you like this, I was convinced that I was doing something wrong."

The Nogardian's eyes snapped open. " _What?_ You honestly thought _that_?"

Kimberly felt the telltale heat as her cheeks flushed crimson, and her hand automatically stopped stroking her mêt's cock. "Don't worry about it, Zedd," she hastily replied. "I understand now that you respond to pleasure by absorbing it, and that's why you act so nonchalant. At first, though, I blamed my inexperience, and it made me wish I had been able to practice a bit with Tommy first so I'd be better at pleasing you and less of a disappointment to you."

Zedd blinked and then blinked again, clearly stunned by her confession. Finally, after a long pause that was beginning to wreak havoc on Kimberly's nerves, he responded by saying, "I can see how my reaction would cause some confusion to someone with your inexperience, Kimberly; however, if you believed even for one moment that I would have allowed you to gain that type of experience with someone other than me, then you are _dead_ wrong."

The teenager sighed softly. "Which means you were never going to let me sleep with Tommy, were you?"

Zedd's green-yellow eyes flashed at her. "Absolutely not," he snapped. "If Tommy had not bowed out, I would have attacked Angel Grove just to keep you away from him."

Kimberly sat back on her heels, although she remained balanced on the warlord's thigh. "That weekend when my parents were out of town and I invited him to stay the night with me, after he left my house, he went straight to see Kat, didn't he?" she stated more than asked.

Zedd raised a hand to tenderly pet the back of the brunette's head. "Ydw, but I only know that because, given how stunning you looked that night, no man could have turned you down for sex unless his heart was already with another; so, after Tommy left you, I kept an eye on him. Once I saw where he had gone and realized what he planned to do with Kathryn, I immediately returned to keeping my eye on you, where I much prefer it to be. I know how badly he hurt you, Kimberly, and I am sorry you felt that pain, but I cannot say I am sorry it happened."

"I'm certain of that, Zedd," Kimberly allowed, her lips curving into a faint smile.

"Nawr, back to the subject of sex …" he remarked, his green-yellow eyes sparkling with unfulfilled desire.

The teenager's small smile turned into a smirk. "I kind of spoiled the mood, didn't I?"

"A problem which can be remedied very quickly, I assure you," Zedd huskily guaranteed whilst his cock once again came to life within Kimberly's fist, proving his words true.

She glanced down her hand, wanting now to taste the chunk of meat it gripped but without drowning herself in the process. She stepped down from her mêt's thigh and said, "Sit upon the ledge, Zedd. Please?"

"Well, since you asked so nicely … " he replied with a low chuckle that instantly struck a chord with Kimberly's libido. Once he moved, she knelt between Zedd's legs, bent her head, and twirled her tongue around his cock's engorged head, collecting its flavorful lavender precum upon her tongue before swallowing the delectable morsel.

"You taste so good, fy arglwydd," she brazenly declared while staring up at her mêt through her lashes.

"Trust me, cariad, there's much more to be had," he growled.

"Oh, I do," she replied, reaffirming the vow she had made to him earlier. In response, Zedd tangled his fingers in her hair as she sucked his cock into her mouth and down her unconstricted throat.

"Fuck … " he groaned. "That feels incredible, Kimberly."

Hearing Zedd's words made the teenager's belly flip with pleasure. She moved her head backwards, forcing his sex to slide along her teeth for added stimulation. His fingers painfully tightened their hold on her hair, but that didn't discourage her from leaning forward and adding a bit more pressure to her bite as she gently gnawed on the piece of stiff yet tender meat stuffed inside of her mouth.

"Fuck!" the warlord snarled, yet his hands kept Kimberly's head locked in place, making it impossible for her to move anything but her mouth. The muscles in her jaw slackened slightly as she welcomed his cock back down into the far depths of her throat while twirling her tongue around its brawny, veiny girth. Zedd shuddered hard as his cock spasmed, splashing the very back of the brunette's throat with its warm, scrumptious seed.

Once the cum stopped dripping from his cock, he plucked her out of the water and spun her around so that she was facing away from him. The Nogardian then gradually lowered Kimberly down upon his lap, making her feel every inch of his long, thick, muscular member as it stretched and filled her right to the point where pain and pleasure melded into one.

"Too much?" he softly asked.

"Na," she replied, her voice breathy with passion. To prove the verity of her words, the teenager hooked her feet around Zedd's calves and used the extra leverage to gently bounce upon his cock.

"Oh, ydw … " Zedd hissed while his arms encircled Kimberly's waist. As they fucked, he leaned forward, his mouth finding the sensitive flesh of her left ear, affectionately nipping at it with his pointed teeth. The brunette inhaled a sharp breath as her mêt's teeth scratched her ear's tender shell. Just like with the spanking the day before, her body reacted sexually to the pain by clenching his cock and releasing even more secretions onto it; however, although the pain brought her to the cusp of orgasm, it wasn't quite enough to push her over the edge.

Zedd abandoned Kimberly's left ear for the right. The moment his sharp teeth bit down on her earlobe, she ground hard upon his cock, her feminine juices soaking it as a powerful orgasm ripped through her body, leaving her quivering uncontrollably in her mêt's arms. He eased her back, allowing her to recover against his chest while his tongue flicked over the wound his teeth had inflicted upon her defenseless ear.

"Did it survive?" the teenager lightly teased.

"I enjoy kissing your ears too much to completely destroy them," the warlord replied, his deep voice rumbling in her eardrum, "but I may have gotten a bit overzealous with this one."

Kimberly laughed. "That's all right, Zedd. The orgasm I just experienced was well worth it."

"You might not be so amiable once you actually see it," he warned.

Kimberly tilted her head back to look up at her mêt. "It's just an ear, fy arglwydd," she retorted. "Besides, it barely even hurts."

Zedd met her gaze and said, "I find your high pain tolerance - "

"Endearing?" the teenager interrupted with a smirk.

"No, worrisome," he sternly corrected. "You were badly injured yesterday, Kimberly, and neither of us would have been aware of its true severity if you hadn't morphed. I'm concerned that with the way you get off on feeling pain during sex, I could really end up hurting you because of your inability to feel the full extent of your injuries."

Kimberly lifted herself off her mêt's cock and knelt on his thighs, facing him. "You won't really hurt me, Zedd."

"You don't know that, Kimberly," he stubbornly argued.

"I do, Zedd, because I trust you." The brunette kissed the Nogardian's mouth. "And if a few scars are left behind, at least I'll know they came from you … "

"Oh for fuck's sake, Kimberly … " Zedd grumbled, "I think that bump to the head addled your mind a little too much."

"Maybe," Kimberly reluctantly agreed, "but the idea is still hot as fuck, even you've got to admit that."

Sighing deeply, Zedd said, "That's it, cariad, methinks you need to cool off for a bit," He suddenly picked Kimberly up into his arms and threw her back into the center of the basin where she landed with a resounding splash.

When Kimberly's head broke the surface of the water, she glared at the Nogardian, who was already dabbing his muscular flesh dry with an icy-blue towel. "Really, Zedd? Was that _really_ necessary? Nawr my hair is soaked again."

"It goes with the rest of you, then, I daresay," he stoically replied.

"Hilarious," the brunette drolly muttered as she climbed out of the basin.

Zedd just shook his head as he tossed her a towel that matched his. "For someone supposedly so pure, cariad, I'm amazed by how _incredibly_ dirty your mind is."

"Right, because that was meant to be clean," Kimberly said, rolling her eyes.

"I was merely commenting on your body," the warlord insisted.

"Yeah, on the _inside_ of my body, Zedd," Kimberly bantered while drying herself off.

"Which is still far cleaner than your mind, even when your nghont is filled to the brink with my cum," Zedd retorted, chortling.

Kimberly chucked her towel at him. "Arglwydd Zedd, you are horrible!"

He caught the towel midair and wrapped it around his waist. "I never claimed otherwise, fy arglwyddes."

Grinning, Kimberly walked over to the vanity and reached for the comb made from bone. She parted her hair to get it away from her face, and that was when she saw the tooth-size hole in the flat of her ear. "Zedd, you pierced my ear!" she gasped, more shocked than upset.

"Ydw, I know," he said as he stepped up behind her. "I tried to warn you … "

Kimberly met his stare in the mirror and playfully asked, "Can you make an earring for it?"

"An earring?" Zedd countered, sounding more than a little bit dubious.

Kimberly nodded. "Sure, maybe in the shape of a "Z" like your ring?" she suggested. "You made the hole, Zedd, so you might as well claim it as yours."

The corners of the warlord's mouth lifted in a smile. "An earring, eh … ? " he mused with much more interest than previously. "Ydw, I like that idea, cariad - a lot." He bent to kiss her crown. "But first, I need to find my staff. I'll be right back."

Zedd left the bathroom, letting the door close behind him. Taking advantage of the opportunity presented to her, Kimberly used the commode and then washed her hands in the sink. Given their differences in culture, Nogardians at least took cleanliness very seriously, for which she was extremely grateful.

The teenager brushed her teeth and then reached for the comb to finish the task she had begun earlier. She was in the midst of unsnarling her fine brunette locks when a gentle rap sounded at the bathroom door. "Who is it?" she asked, although she already knew the answer.

"The man on the moon," Zedd answered, making the teenager chuckle.

"Ooh, another man to ravish me," she teased. "By all means, come on in."

The door opened as Zedd strode into the room. "Any other man touches you, Kimberly, and he will die, just so you are aware," he growled.

"You let Tommy live," she reminded him.

"Only because, at that time, you wouldn't have forgiven me for killing him, swyn serch or not."

"True," Kimberly agreed. Then, changing the subject she said, "I see you found your staff."

"Ydw, it was laying underneath the kitchen table," Zedd answered.

Kimbrlry's brows furrowed in confusion. "What was it doing there?"

With a casual shrug, Zedd replied, "I must have dropped it."

The teenager cocked her head at him. "Why do I get the feeling I'm missing something important?"

"Probably because you are," the Nogardian bluntly stated with a bemused smirk, "but don't worry, cariad, I'm sure you'll figure it out at some point. Nawr, about the earring … " He pointed his staff at Kimberly's ear and seemed to consider something for a moment. Then, all at once, a surge of silver energy that resembled lightning shot out from the "Z" at the top of the staff, striking the small hole in the upper cartilage of the brunette's ear. Once the lightning died away and no longer blinded her vision with its brilliance, she turned back to the looking-glass and smiled. In the flat of her ear glistened a string of tiny, dainty rubies that formed a delicate scripted "z".

"Oh, it's perfect," Kimberly breathed while admiring the beautiful piece of jewelry that her mêt had created for her.

When she reached to touch it, curious as to what type of backing he had used to hold it in place, he smugly said, "It won't ever come out, Kimberly, not so long as you and I remain together."

She tucked her hair behind her ear so that the special adornment would stay visible. "Very fitting," she replied.

Zedd nodded. "Ydw, I thought you would approve."

"And sexy," the teenager added with a seductive smile.

"Indubitably," her mêt agreed, his voice thick with unmistakable desire. His green-yellow eyes roamed over her nakedness, and she knew he was aroused, even though his monstrous cock was concealed behind his silver codpiece.

"You need to get dressed, fy arglwyddes," he gently commanded. "Brecwast will be ready soon, and I have a schedule to keep."

"Of course, fy arglwydd," Kimberly relented, acknowledging and accepting that playtime was over, at least for now. She padded over to the towel Zedd had originally used on himself and snatched it up from the floor. After securing the fluffy cloth just above the swell of her breasts, she followed him into the bedroom.

While the Nogardian snapped all of his adornments into place, Kimberly sauntered to the wardrobe and opened its doors. "So much pinc," she dolefully muttered, this time truly unhappy with her choices in clothing.

"If you'd just accept the Darn Arian Pŵer Porffor … "

Kimberly turned her head and looked at her mêt. "It's not that I don't want to be the Ceidwad Porffor, Zedd; I just don't want Kat to have the Darn Arian Pŵer Pinc, not yet."

The warlord crackled a laugh. "Nawr you're being petty, Kimberly, but I can't say I blame you. Here," he pointed the top of his staff at her, "you deserve this."

Lightning flashed again, and as the towel fell from the teenager's slender, toned gymnast's body, she was showered from head to toe in silver sparks that joined together to form a silver metallic ankle-length gown. Its fabric was woven from threads of pure silver wire so thin and fine it flowed over her body like a liquid. Its bodice and long sleeves tightly conformed to her torso and arms like a second skin, while its back remained open to her waist A short cape made out of the same shimmering material flowed down from Kimberly's shoulders to just below her shoulder blades, leaving the small of her back bare. In contrast with the silver dress, strappy red heels adorned her feet, adding almost four inches to her height and making her feel significantly more regal.

"Holy hellfuck," the Norgardian breathed.

Kimberly brows furrowed quizzically. "You created the dress, Zedd."

"True, but sometimes my staff has a mind of its own," he slyly replied, heightening her suspicion that there was more to the staff than she knew. However, before she could inquire, he added, "You look absolutely stunning in arian, cariad," praising her and clearly pleased with the gown's silver color.

Kimberly glanced down at her waist and frowned. "There's really no place to put my Morpher."

"You won't need it," Zedd confidently assured her. "You'll be spending the day with me. If something should happen, _I'll_ defend you."

"All right," Kimberly agreed, "but I shouldn't just leave it lying around." She strutted to the magenta skirt where it lay on the floor by her mêt's feet, unsheathed her Power Morpher, and handed it over to him. "Keep it somewhere safe, fy arglwydd. Please?"

Zedd took the Power Morpher without ceremony and asked, "What about your communicator?"

"Yeah, you can have that, too, since I doubt I'll be needing it anytime soon." Kimberly unclasped her communicator and dropped it alongside her Morpher in Zedd's open palm. Watching his fingers fold up around her two most prized possessions caused her heart to skip a beat. However, he nonchalantly stashed them inside the nightstand's drawer, using his staff to lock it.

"I thought for sure you'd gloat a little," the brunette truthfully confessed.

Zedd scoffed as he strode to stand in front of her. "Zordon can have his _precious_ Darn Arian Pŵer Pinc and Morpher, Kimberly. I have what I want right here."

She reached up and cupped the warlord's face in her hands and said, "As do I."

"Oh, fuck it," he hissed. After propping his staff up against a wall, Zedd swept the teenager off her feet and carried her directly to the bed.

"What about brecwast?" she teased.

"This won't take long … " The Nogardian laid Kimberly upon the edge of the mattress on her right side and unclipped his codpiece, setting it gently on the floor. Then, he lifted her skirt and tugged her panty down to her ankles. "Keep your legs together while I fuck you, cariad," he gruffly commanded. "It will feel better for me that way."

"Iawn," she consented.

Zedd remained standing on the floor as he guided his cock into Kimberly's cunt from behind. "Fuck, you're wet,' he groaned.

A light frown touched her lips. "Too much so?"

"Fuck no," he sharply answered. "You feel incredible … "

"So do you, Zedd," Kimberly assured him.

Grunting, the Nogardian began thrusting into her. The brunette kept her legs tightly squeezed together just as her mêt had requested, although she couldn't stop her hips from mimicking his movements and matching his tempo, forcing him to slide to a place even deeper within her body.

"Fuck, Kimberly .. " Zedd growled while moving to straddle her. Suddenly, the teenager found herself facedown in the pillows while he lay on top of her body, pounding it into oblivion. The pillows muffled her screams, but by the time he shuddered and spilt his seed, Kimberly's throat was raw from overuse.

Zedd leaned over her limp, quivering body, his mouth finding her right ear as he whispered, "Enjoyed that, did you?"

"Ydw," she hoarsely answered, her face still buried in the pillows,"but so did you."

"Probably a little too much," Zedd admitted with a slight chortle "Will you be all right?"

Kimberly nodded. "Yeah, just give me a minute."

The warlord sat up, giving her some room to breathe. "I enjoy fucking you far too much."

Kimberly turned back onto her side just in time to watch her mêt snap the front and back of his codpiece together. "Well, as you said, you've waited a long time."

He reached for her hands and helped her to sit up so she could make herself presentable once again. "It's more than that, cariad," Zedd said, combing her unruly brown locks with his metal-gauntleted fingers. "As you know, I've had my fair share of sex over my long lifetime, Kimberly, but it's never before been to where I wanted to stay inside of fy mêt forever."

The teenager gave him a wry smile, teasing somewhat seriously, "I'm too much of a distraction for you."

Zedd chuckled and replied, "Perhaps so, but you're certainly not an unwelcome one. I just have to learn to exhibit a bit more self-control, which is a battle I am currently losing. Fuck, I could spend all day in bed with you, and it still wouldn't be enough."

"Well, if it's any consolation, Zedd, I feel the same way about you," Kimberly confessed. "I find _you_ quite irresistible as well." She sighed softly, reluctantly adding, "But I know we must be running behind schedule by now, and I really am quite hungry."

Zedd rose to his feet and grabbed his staff. "Ydw, you're right. Come, fy arglwyddes; let's get you something to eat."

"Thank you, fy arglwydd," Kimberly graciously answered. "I would appreciate that." The Nogardian offered her his arm, and together, side by side, they exited the bedchamber.

When the couple entered the kitchen, Zira greeted her brother with a warm smile. "Arglwydd Zedd, brecwast is almost ready."

"Dda. Diolch, Zira," he courteously thanked her with a nod.

"Croeso, fy arglwydd." Zira's cobalt-blue eyes shifted to Kimberly. "I apologize for last night. You handled the gohebwyr ddrwg better than I would have credited you with being capable of doing prior to seeing their response to your performance myself."

Zedd's green-yellow eyes glinted at his sister. "That's it?" he growled before Kimberly had the chance to respond to Zira's statement. "One feeble apology is all you're going to give fy mêt? As fy chwaer, I expected more from you, Zira."

Kimberly gave the Nogardian woman a beseeching look, mentally begging her to explain to Zedd what had happened between them the day before. Instead, Zira simply added, "And I am glad you are feeling better, Cyneberlê."

Zedd growled low in his throat, his patience with his sister obviously waning. "Will one of you please tell me what the hell you two are fighting about?" he commanded.

Kimberly's hand flexed on his arm. "Zira and I are not fighting, Zedd," she curtly informed him.

"Then why the sudden hostility," he demanded, glaring at Zira. "Just the other day, you thought Kimberly was sweet. What happened to change your high opinion of her?"

"Nothing has changed my high opinion of Cyneberlê, fy arglwydd," Zira insisted. "She is indeed the sweetest, most charming, and loveliest of all your mêts, and I'm very happy you found her."

Zedd cocked his head, appearing befuddled. "Then what's the problem?"

The Nogardian woman sighed deeply. "Exactly that," she defeatedly replied." If Cyneberlê were like all your previous mêts, everything would be fine - but she's not, Arglwydd Zedd - she's different - and that's the damn problem. Nawr, if you'll excuse me, I have bwyd to serve."

" _Fuuuk_ ," Zedd hissed under his breath once his sister busied herself in the kitchen, clearly catching her subtle way of telling him that she also was developing romantic feelings for Kimberly. "Fuck," he spat again, this time his eyes finding the brunette's. "Did you and Zira … ?"

Kimberly felt her suddenly burning cheeks glow crimson at his insinuation. "What? No, of course not, Zedd; however there was a moment yesterday morning when we could have kissed, but we didn't. It obviously has affected our friendship, though."

"Fuck," the warlord snarled for the third time. He silently led Kimberly to the chair next to his, and once they both sat down, he reached for his computer tablet that had been left lying on the table. She watched him browse through the different articles, his green-yellow eyes skimming over the words.

"Anything interesting?" she finally asked, curious because he had scrolled past her photograph a few times.

"Na," he curtly answered. "The identity of that man who accosted you still remains a mystery."

Kimberly offered her mêt an encouraging smile. "Don't worry, Zedd. If anyone can figure out who he is, I trust it will be you."

His expression softened, and he passed her the tablet. "Here, cariad, you may as well know what is being said about you. I'm sure you will find it quite enlightening."

Kimberly leaned back in her chair as she glided her fingers over the thin screen as she saw Zedd do just moments before. She felt his gaze upon her and raised her brown eyes to meet it. "Ydw … ?"

He gently shook his head as if to clear it and reverently replied, "You're so beautiful, Kimberly."

A bashful smile touched her lips. "Diolch, Zedd, and now that I have met other Nogardian men, I can safely say that you are quite handsome yourself."

His eyes brightened, but instead of drawing attention to her compliment, he simply said, "Go back to your reading, cariad."

Suspecting Zedd hoped rather than believed that her words were her own and not the byproduct of the spell, the teenager soberly returned her focus to the computer screen. She tapped the pad of her forefinger on an article titled _Cyneberlê Confronted_ and began reading it.

_Your intrepid reporter was presented with the opportunity to interview Arglwydd Zedd's mysterious new mêt he brought here from a yet-unnamed, faraway world, and I must admit that I was astonished by the lovely little alien who's stolen ein arglwydd's heart's poise under fire. Cyneberlê granted our impromptu interview, answering even the most pointed questions with grace, and ydw, even with humor._

_And this is what we now know of Arglwydd Zedd's potential seventh bondiomêt - a number she told us with a charming laugh is regarded as lucky upon her homeworld: despite her serene and even elegant demeanor, Monesig Hydd is not of noble blood. However, she did not appear enamoured of Arglwydd Zedd's power as much as the Nogardian himself, speaking strongly in defence of his character. She claims to have known ein arglwydd for an unspecified number of years, during which time she has learnt something of our culture and reached fluency in our tongue, demonstrating an unexpected but welcome interest in Nogard far beyond what your intrepid reporter initially thought._

_Sadly our interview was cut short before we could learn more about the charming Cyneberlê Hydd by the violent interference of her bodyguard, the infamous Goldar, but we look forward to bringing you more news and information regarding Arglwydd Zedd's new mêt._

_Until then, we must sustain our hunger for new information upon speculation._

By the time Kimberly reached the end of the article, Zira had joined her and Zedd at the table, and the two Nogardians had already begun eating their food. Embarrassed, the brunette set the tablet down and felt it necessary to apologize for her rude behavior. "Ymddiheuraf, I tend to zone out when I read. Fy mam complains about it all the time."

Zedd looked at her and said, "No one at this table is complaining about your reading habits, Kimberly. Besides, I'm the one who told you to read what the gohebwyr ddrwg had written about you. So, what did you think of it?"

"They were a lot more flattering than I expected them to be," Kimberly truthfully answered as she reached for her glass of mefusadd to quench her scratchy throat.

"Cyneberlê," Zira started, "you stood up to that man, thereby defending Arglwydd Zedd, Rheolydd Nogard. Without realizing it, you gained a hell of a lot of respect from his subjects."

"Not just from his subjects," Zedd interjected, catching the teenager's eye. "but from the rheolydd himself."

"And from his chwaer," Zira added.

"But I didn't _do_ anything," the brunette disputed.

Zedd gave his head a small shake. "You proved your loyalty to me, Kimberly, and that is _not_ to be taken lightly. You have impressed both Zira and me with your poise and equanimity and also earned the respect of the bobl."

The respect of the people. Kimberly's heart soared. Gaining their trust was her main objective, quickly followed by learning all that she could about them and their different cultures. She stared down her plate, more aware than ever that she knew nothing of the different meats and fruits she was eating - not their names or their origins.

Kimberly was a bright girl, who did well enough in school to earn decent grades, although she was not as brilliant-minded as Billy Cranston, the Blue Ranger. She figured he would be able to tell her all about Nogard after spending a few days buried in a library and exploring the planet, whereas the brunette was afraid it was going to take her months or even years to acquaint herself with this strange world that kept seeming stranger by the minute. She truly was an outsider - one that really had no business being Arglwydd Zedd's mêt - and yet, Fate, if one believed in that, placed her in that exact position. Now, Kimberly had no choice but to make the best of it, because there was no way she would ever be able to leave Zedd. She loved him too damn much.

"Kimberly, breathe."

Zedd's gentle command startled the teenager, who instinctively inhaled a sharp breath, filling her burning, oxygen-deprived lungs with air.

"There, that's better, cariad," he praised. "You were beginning to turn blue."

"Oh, sorry," she distractedly replied, her thoughts remaining focused upon her next task.

"Fy arglwydd, it appears that your mêt is under a lot of stress," Zira stated.

"Ydw, she is," Zedd confirmed, "but who wouldn't be in the same situation?"

His empathy made Kimberly's heart swell with love, and even his sister appeared surprised by his response, judging by her widened eyes. Neither sibling said a word as they continued to eat, but the brunette could see from the soft glow in Zira's expression that the Nogardian was pleased with the progress her brother was making since Kimberly's arrival on Nogard. The teenager knew, all too well, that the dark magic within Zedd's body still existed and could reappear at any time, but she still trusted that he wouldn't destroy her, even without being armed with her Power Morpher.

When Kimberly finished eating, Zedd rose from his chair and offered her his hand. "Come, cariad. We have a busy day ahead of us."

"I will get your mask and cape, fy arglwydd," Zira said, also standing, "and your cloak and gloves, Cyneberlê."

Meanwhile, Kimberly placed her hand in her mêt's and allowed him to help her to her feet. "I would say that our day has already been quite busy," she teased.

The Nogardian pulled her close to him and held her loosely in his arms. "Indeed it has."

The teenager ran her hands over his silver chestplate and tilted her face up so that she could gaze into his green-yellow eyes. "I wish you knew how much I adore you, Zedd," she told him, her obvious sincerity making the truth of her words difficult if not impossible for even the doubting warlord to deny.

He raised a hand to gently brush a few strands of hair away from Kimberly's face and tucked them behind the ear he had pierced as if admiring his own handiwork, his fingers lingering on its tender lobe. "I'm beginning to, cariad."

"Really?" Kimberly breathed, her heart positively soaring with mingled hope and adoration at his words.

"Ydw, really," Zedd replied as his sister returned with his apparel and handed it to him. While he donned his mask, the brunette assisted him with his violet cape, and when she finished hooking it onto his shoulders, she slipped on her own cloak. Because her arms were already covered, Zira had brought her a shorter pair of mesh gloves than the ones she had worn previously that fit comfortably over the bottom edges of her gown's sleeves. Kimberly had just finished pulling on the second glove when the warlord once again offered his arm to her.

"Zira," he said, addressing the Nogardian woman, "Kimberly and I will return in time for Swper."

Zira bowed low at the waist. "Ydw, of course, fy arglwydd. Have a safe trip."

"Diolch, we shall." Zedd assured her.

As usual, a red glow enveloped the couple, and within mere minutes, they arrived at the front stoop of a mid-sized, two-story house constructed entirely from large, triangular blocks of opalescent stone that glistened different colors depending on how the sunlight hit them, and they were fitted together so cunningly and closely that Kimberly could not see any sign of the mortar that must secure them in place. Enamored of the shimmering rocks, she bent to get a closer look at one, lightly running her gloved fingers over the perfectly smooth, sun-warmed surface.

"Kimberly, please, mind your posture," Zedd urgently commanded, sounding unusually nervous. "You can admire the stones hwyrach." When she straightened back up, he looked her over even more thoroughly than usual, making sure everything was in place.

"Where are we?" the teenager inquired, genuinely curious - and not only because of being in a new place, but also due to the strange alteration in his normally coolly collected demeanour.

"You'll see," the warlord ominously replied as he rang a gold bell that was attached to the front door. "But, if all goes well, this visit should amply cover the three hours you owe me from yesterday."

Before Kimberly could ask any more questions, the door swung open on silent hinges. Standing upon the threshold was a tall, showily muscular Nogardian man wearing nothing but a tiny, banana-yellow loincloth that immediately drew her gaze down from his lazy grin to the unmistakable, barely-covered bulge between his powerful thighs. "Whoa," she murmured under her breath, taken aback by the man's striking and completely exposed physique.

"Croeso, Arglwydd Zedd," the man solemnly announced in a very smooth, deep voice as he performed a low, formal bow that made the muscles ripple upon his broad frame. "Croeso i gartref Moneddiges Gwenllian."

I know whose tŷ I am visiting," Zedd snapped, his unexpected sharpness breaking Kimberly from her stunned stupor.

Nonplussed by the Nogardian ruler and warlord's brusque manner, the man straightened up and introduced himself. "Dw i Ieustyn, gwas y Moneddiges Gwenllian, fy arglwydd."

"Gwas?" Uncertain that she had heard the man correctly and more than slightly amused by the automatic translation, the brunette glanced at Zedd and asked in English, "Does that really mean 'cabana boy'?"

"Close, my sweet," he replied, matching her native tongue and chortling. "The literal translation is manservant, but I like the way you heard it better."

Ieustyn looked between Zedd and Kimberly, his brow furrowed while he listened to the pair speaking in a language with which he was unfamiliar.

"Aww, he looks like a lost puppy," Kimberly snickered, trying hard not to laugh as she unclasped her veil and pushed back her hood.

"Be nice … " Zedd lightly reprimanded. Then, speaking Nogardian, he addressed the other man demanding, "Will you please inform Moneddiges Gwenllian of our arrival, bachgen-tegan?"

The man appeared affronted by the warlord's blatant slur of 'boy toy' but kept quiet as he obeyed Lord Zedd's order and stalked up a grand spiral staircase that led to the second floor. Even Kimberly gave her mêt a sour look. "Hey, if I have to be nice, then so do you, fy arglwydd," she complained.

"I _am_ being nice," Zedd retorted, again switching back to English. " _You,_ however, were not."

"Fine," Kimberly relented. "I promise I will be on my best behavior since it obviously means so much to you, but just for the record, my insult was not as mean as yours."

"Duly noted," Zedd said with a slight chuckle.

From somewhere upstairs, a door opened then closed. A few moments later footsteps could be heard, and the Nogardian ruler straightened both his spine and his staff as he prepared for Lady Gwenllian's grand appearance - and grand it was. Kimberly never knew Nogardians' muscular flesh could be any other color than red, but the 'skin' of the woman who was striding down the staircase was the fairest hue of rose-pink the teenager had ever seen mixed with a shimmer of gold, which contrasted beautifully with her indigo adornments and her deep blue eyes that closely resembled a pair of polished lapis lazuli cabochons. The lady's platinum gray hair was twisted upon her head in an elegant up-do, leaving her velvety, diamond-sprinkled, indigo cape with its brilliant white trim completely uncovered and flowing regally behind her as she descended the glistening, white-stoned steps.

"Fuuuck," Kimberly breathed in English, astounded and slightly intimidated by the woman's striking beauty, poise, and elegance.

"Easy, cariad," Zedd murmured, his lips barely even moving.

"Arglwydd Zedd," Lady Gwenllian cordially greeted when she reached the floor. "What a pleasure to see you, again. And this young woman must be the infamous Kimberly."

"Ydw, she is," Zedd replied as the woman's dark eyes studied the teenager.

"I saw the hologram of you and the gohebwyr ddrwg that was recorded yesterday. You impressed me, Kimberly. Fy mab is very fortunate to have found you."

 _Fy mab_?! Kimberly inwardly exclaimed. _Good lord … if Lord Zedd was Lady Gwenllian's son, then that meant … oh God, this woman is his_ mother _. Fuck! No wonder he had been so nervous about the visit!_

"Diolch," Kimberly graciously replied through a suddenly very dry throat whilst fighting hard against the urge to smack Zedd for surprising her like this.

Able to read the brunette's consternation directed at her son, Lady Gwenllian chortled softly. "Your mêt has a lot of fire within her."

"Ydw, that is what both made her such a formidable foe and a great potential co-ruler of Nogard."

Lady Gwenllian turned her attention to Zedd and asked, "You would share your responsibilities with her, then?"

"Ydw," he replied. "I believe she could help me bridge the gap between the elitaidd and the cominwyr."

"A gap that you yourself have helped widen," the warlord's mother bluntly accused, her gaze hard and her mouth pressed into a thin line, making Kimberly wonder just how much of a tyrant her mêt actually was. Not that she should be surprised to learn that he was a despotic ruler given her experiences with him when they fought back on Earth, she supposed.

"Ydw, well, now I wish to narrow it, and armed with Kimberly's natural charm and the fact that she is of the cominwyr herself, I trust I shall be able to accomplish my goal."

Lady Gwenllian's expression softened. "And it's a noble goal to be sure, Mab, but it's going to take more than a few years to gain that type of credence with the cyffredin bobl."

Fully understanding what the woman was insinuating, Kimberly said, "I am not going anywhere, Moneddiges Gwenllian. You can be sure of that."

"Confident, aren't you?" the woman asked.

"Kimberly has every reason to be, Mam," Zedd smoothly interjected. "In just the few days she's been here, she has managed to make friends with Neidr."

Lady Gwenllian's dark eyes widened as they fell upon the teenager. "Oh my … " she murmured, clearly surprised by this new information regarding her son's mêt. "That changes _everything_ … "

"Ydw, it pretty much does," Zedd concurred. He draped an arm around Kimberly's shoulders and kissed her crown. "Kimberly is not like the others, Mam."

"I should say not," his mother said, now giving the brunette an intensely appraising look under which the teenager had to fight the urge to squirm. "Come, both of you. Let's sit and enjoy a glass of Draigwyn together."

Lady Gwenllian led the way down a corridor and into a cozy, elegantly appointed sitting room that was the perfect size for an intimate gathering of people. She sat down first, claiming a plushly upholstered white chair made from what appeared to be dragon hide. Zedd took a seat in an identical chair a few feet away from her, separated by a low table carved from a single piece of highly lacquered black wood inlaid with tall, thin triangles of a material that resembled the bone from which her comb was crafted. He leaned his staff against the chair then surprised Kimberly by reaching for her hand and urging her to sit on his lap. Although she felt somewhat awkward and uncomfortable sitting with him in such an intimate position in front of his mother, she daintily lowered herself to sit upon his knee, trying to keep what she hoped was a proper distance from his body. He wrapped an arm securely around her waist and pulled her closer so she was resting against his chest, holding her in a manner that was both possessive and protective, thereby completely negating her effort to put an acceptable distance between their bodies.

Raising her voice so it would carry beyond the walls of the sitting room, Lady Gwenllian sternly summoned her gwas. "Ieustyn!"

Within moments, the manservant appeared on the threshold. "Ydw, fy moneddiges?"

"Go and retrieve the finest bottle of Draigwyn I own," the Nogardian woman commanded.

Half-bowing Ieustyn acquiesced to Gwenllian's command, replying, "Ydw, fy moneddiges."

"Mam, you really don't have to make such a fuss," Zedd insisted, sounding rather embarrassed.

"Nonsense," Moneddiges Gwenllian disputed. "This is a cause for celebration, Mab. I've waited centuries for you to find your one true love, and I cannot express how thrilled my heart is for you, and for what you have found in Kimberly. You may have failed in your mission to conquer Earth, but what you _did_ capture there was far more precious than any land won in battle."

Shocked, Kimberly looked up to meet her mêt's gaze and asked, "Does this mean you are giving up your quest to defeat Zordon and destroy Earth?"

"I hate Zordon, Kimberly, but as long as Earth is our battleground and you remain my mêt, it is counterproductive and even destructive for me to continue my mission. Furthermore, your confrontation with that man yesterday made me realize that my place is here on Nogard and it needs to be so. This is my homeworld, and I _shall_ protect it just like you do yours."

Kimberly stared into the warlord's visor and said, "My loyalty is now to you, Arglwydd Zedd; therefore, I shall defend Nogard alongside you."

"As merely his mêt, you cannot make such a vow," Moneddiges Gwenllian sternly informed her in a scathingly scolding tone that would have cowed most girls.

However, Kimberly was _not_ most girls, and she was not so easily cowed. Affronted, she squared her shoulders as she turned to confront Zedd's mother. "Perhaps not, but as a _Ceidwad Pŵer_ _,_ I most certainly can, and I have - and I shall _not_ retract my words."

"Well, there you have it, Mam," Zedd drolly interjected, his voice filled with pride. "My mêt has spoken. If she wants to help protect Nogard, then she shall."

"Kimberly needs to know her place, Mab. Until she becomes your bondiomêt, she has no authority to make such a claim. You know this as well as I."

"Kimberly is well aware of her place, Mam," the warlord growled, defending the teenager. "And it is by my side, where she _deserves_ to be."

"Zeddŷ, you speak like _you_ were the one struck by Goldar's swyn serch," his mother chided, shocking Kimberly who had not thought that Zedd would have told his mother about the spell. "I realize that you're in love, but you are still Rheolydd Nogard."

"I know what my role is, Mam."

"Then act like it, _Arglwydd_ Zedd," the Nogardian lady frostily retorted, somehow managing to look down her nose at her son despite the difference in their respective heights and the fact that both were seated.

Kimberly was able to feel the tension within her mêt's body tightening his taut muscles nearly to the point of trembling, and she was certain that, were Moneddiges Gwenllian not his mother, the ruler of Nogard would have struck her dead with his staff. In order to bring some semblance of peace back into the now-stifling atmosphere within the room, the teenager eyed the Norgardian woman and calmly inquired, "How do you know about the swyn serch?"

Leaning back in her chair, Lady Gwenllian replied, "Soon after it was cast, fy mab came home to tell me what had happened and to ask if there was any chance that it could be reversed."

"I assume it cannot be," Kimberly soberly stated.

"It is said that such swynion _can_ be broken," the lady replied. "However, trying can also cause irreversible damage to the heart; and, after discussing it together, Arglwydd Zedd and I both agreed it wasn't worth the risk to you."

"Kimberly, I hate the swyn serch as much as you," Zedd added, causing her to return her gaze to him, "but losing you forever would be far worse. I adore you too much."

The brunette raised a hand and touched the area of his mask that covered his cheek. "I adore you, too, Zedd, and I'm glad you chose me for a mêt, swyn serch or not."

"Cariad," he murmured, the word barely audible through his mask as he bent his head to kiss Kimberly. For propriety's sake, their kiss only lasted a few brief seconds, but it still lasted long enough to make her body tingle white-hot with desire.

The couple broke apart just as Ieustyn re-entered the sitting room holding a tall, clear bottle filled with a deep maroon Draigwyn so dark it was nearly black which he poured into three faceted goblets of barely-translucent indigo crystal.

"Pour a goblet for yourself as well, gwas," the Nogardian warlord commanded.

While the manservant obeyed, Lady Gwenllian caught her son's gaze. "Arglwydd Zedd, you don't honestly believe that leustyn would have laced the Draigwyn with something, do you?"

Zedd's hand glided over Kimberly's back, his metal fingernails ghosting over the slight curve of her spine. "I'm not taking any chances, Mam. Your bachgen-tegan is a stranger to me." He looked at Ieustyn and ordered, "Drink. Nawr."

The manservant lifted the goblet to his lips and took a tentative sip.

"Oh for fuck's sake, gwas _, drink_ it," Zedd snapped, reaching for his staff.

leustyn tilted his head back and quickly emptied his goblet, and Kimberly could not help watching the muscles of his throat working as the 'cabana boy' swallowed with a barely audible gulp. When he didn't drop dead immediately, she was handed Zedd's goblet so that the warlord could take off his mask and set it upon her lap. Zedd then reclaimed his Draigwyn, using his sudden freedom from the mask to give her lips another chaste kiss in the process while his green-yellow eyes smoldered with mounting passion. The sexual tension between him and the teenager rose exponentially as they drank their wine, and the alcohol heightened their senses to the point where even his mother noticed.

"Mab, if you would like to take your mêt to a spare bedchamber, you may," Lady Gwenllian offered with a knowing smile and a soft chuckle.

"Diolch, Mam, but our desires can wait until we return to a more suitable setting," Zedd flippantly replied.

"As you wish, fy arglwydd." The Nogardian woman took a sip of her Draigwyn and then asked, "So, how is your chwaer doing? I haven't spoken to her since Kimberly's arrival."

At the mention of his sister, the warlord stiffened. "Zira is well, Mam."

Lady Gwenllian's blue eyes narrowed. "Yet you seem displeased that I inquired about her well being. I hope there isn't trouble between the two of you, for despite everything that has transpired over the years, you both have managed to remain close."

Zedd glanced at leustyn. "Leave us. I wish to have a private conversation with fy mam."

The manservant bowed at the waist. "Ydw, Arglwydd Zedd. As you wish."

Once the door closed behind Ieustyn, the warlord said, "You're right, Mam, fy chwaer and I have always been close, but unfortunately something has happened that could potentially change the intimate nature of our relationship. This morning Zira confessed that she has developed feelings for fy mêt, and it has caused so much friction within the household that I am seriously considering moving Kimberly into the castell with me."

"Oh. Oh, I see," Lady Gwenllian replied. A soft sigh escaped her lips as her gaze briefly shifted to the teenager before settling back onto her son. "Perhaps under the circumstances that would be for the best, Zeddŷ."

After a short pause the Nogardian lord nodded in concurrence. "Ydw, Mam, I believe you are right." He cleared his throat and added, sounding a bit surprised, "I was unaware previously of Zira's attraction to other females."

"That's because she never meant for you to find out," his mother bluntly replied. "Given who you are and the fact that she is still Tywysog Callum's bondiomêt, the less you know about your chwaer's personal life the better."

At the mention of the prince's name, Zedd's body glowed red. "Agreed," he snapped, "but she needs to stop pining for fy mêt _._ I am _not_ sharing Kimberly with her.'

"I would never expect you to, Mab," Lady Gwenllian calmly stated, "which is why I am not against Kimberly living in the castell with you as long as you adhere to proper etiquette like you have with all of your mêts before her."

When the the warlord's crimson glow heightened in brilliance, the teenager cupped his face in her hands and quietly murmured in a low tone not intended to carry, "Zedd, I know I mean more to you than any of your past mêts, but since there are specific guidelines in place for how I should behave, then I think it would be best for me to abide by them to avoid any criticism."

Zedd's anger instantly ebbed. "Perhaps so, but it will still be safer for you if we share a bed chamber, and I would prefer it to be mine."

"That would be highly improper!" his mother sharply interjected, causing the brunette instantly to drop her hands back onto her lap as she turned to face the woman. "Kimberly can sleep in her own chamber and be assigned a llawforwyn. As she is a Ceidwad Pŵer, she shouldn't need your protection, Zeddŷ. If you don't trust her abilities - "

"Of course I trust her abilities!" Zedd snapped. "Kimberly is one of the strongest people I have ever known. It's just that I would feel better having her close to me."

Lady Gwenllian's expression softened. "Mab, if you would just - "

"Na!" Zedd harshly interrupted, making the brunette very curious as to what he had known the Norgardian woman intended to say. More gently, he insisted, "Na, Mam, I can't - not yet."

"Very well, Zeddŷ, I will trust your judgement in this matter; but, in the meantime, Kimberly _will_ keep to her own chamber and be attended to by a llawforwyn of your choice as custom dictates."

Zedd lightly stroked the teenager's soft brown locks while he considered his mother's words. "Ydw, you are right, Mam," he replied at last, agreeing to provide the younger with a lady-in-waiting. "However, it's been years since I have had any use for a llawforwyn, so at this point, I don't know who I would choose."

Lady Gwenllian offered her son a tender smile. "I believe Marared's daughter Siân would make a fine llawforwyn, and I am sure she would be honored to serve you through serving your mêt prior to the official bonding, if you should request her service."

Zedd remained silent as he continued combing his fingers through Kimberly's hair, which she found quite soothing. Without thinking, she leaned into his chest, pressing her warm cheek against the cool silver ribcage that adorned his chest. Between the wine now in her system and all their pre-breakfast activities, her eyelids began to feel quite heavy.

The warlord's mouth caressed Kimberly's crown. "You may rest if you wish, cariad," he softly voiced into her hair.

Surprised, she asked, "Right here?"

The arm that was wrapped around the teenager's waist tightened even further to prevent her from leaving his lap. "Ydw, Kimberly, right here," Zedd lowly answered. "Neither fy mam or I shall be offended, and I know you've had a very busy morning … "

The brunette looked up at her mêt through her lashes. "Well as long as you don't mind … "

"I don't," he sternly yet quietly confirmed.

Nodding softly, Kimberly relaxed and allowed her eyelids to fall closed, but before she completely dozed off, Zedd shifted her within his arms so that he could remove his metal breastplate. Once the barrier was gone, she nuzzled her face into his muscular flesh, subtly kissing it.

"Better?" he asked, his deep voice a seductive rumble in her ear.

"Much," she sighed.

"Dda iawn, cariad."

Kimberly smiled sleepily and said, "Zedd, I adore you."

"I know, Kimberly," he murmured back. "Rwy'n addoli chi, hefyd. Always remember that."

Although Zedd's command always to remember that he adored her, too, confused her, it didn't stop the teenager from drifting into a deep, peaceful sleep.


End file.
